


Now You Don’t

by LexLemon



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: Lovable Assholes, Magic tricks galore, Next Generation, OCs galore, Representation that the original movies lacked, Scary situation involving water/drowning in Chapter 13, What a creative title amiright?, some things never change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2019-10-29 23:48:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17817842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexLemon/pseuds/LexLemon
Summary: It’s been over twenty years since the Four Horsemen last performed onstage. Now, a new generation of Horsemen have emerged...and they’re a lot closer to the originals than you might think.





	1. Chapter 1

_What_ _is_ _it_ _about_ _magic_ _that's_ _made_ _it_ _constant_ _throughout_ _centuries?_ _Why_ _do_ _people_ _still_ _go_ _around_ _performing_ _card_ _tricks_ _or_ _making_ _something_ _levitate_ _in_ _front_ _of_ _a_ _crowd?_ _Why_ _do_ _we_ _still_ _find_ _it_ _so_ _compelling?_

_Is_ _it_ _the_ _thrill_ _of_ _performing_ _feats_ _that_ _only_ _God_ _could_ _enact?_ _Is_ _it_ _so_ _we_ _can_ _give_ _our_ _audience_ _some_ _kind_ _of_ _hope_ _that_ _there's_ _true_ _magic_ _in_ _the_ _world?_

_No._ _Magic_ _is_ _created_ _through_ _one_ _thing:_ _Misdirection._

_Magic_ _thrives_ _off_ _of_ _deception._ _We_ _make_ _an_ _art_ _of_ _showing_ _your_ _eyes_ _one_ _thing_ _when_ _there's_ _something_ _different_ _going_ _on_ _behind the scenes._

_Most people would look at this and say it’s horrible to make a career off of deceiving others. Those people don’t understand that there’s a reason for the misdirection. It’s misdirection for the greater good. The audience is deceived for the purpose of making their lives better than they were._

_In the end, no matter which way you look at it, it still goes by one name: Magic._

~

A young girl stood in the center of her tiny bedroom in an apartment with a view of the Manhattan skyline. Her wavy brown hair that trailed to her shoulders fluttered against the back of her of her black leather jacket with every shove she made.

The girl was busy packing a pink suitcase with as many different types of black clothing as possible. Once the last shirt was packed, she pulled out a picture from her jacket pocket. It was of a young woman with bright red hair holding a newborn baby, its head resting against her left shoulder. By their side was a man with tussled brown hair and slight stubble growing by his chin. Although both adults' eyes were closed, they had faint smiles on their faces.

The girl never took her eyes off the picture, her bright blue eyes never blinking at it. Once the image was sealed in her mind, she took a deep breath then placed it on top of the clothes piled up in the suitcase.

She closed the lid of the suitcase and yanked on the zipper a few times to seal it. When it didn’t budge, she resorted to pressing herself on top of it to pull it around.

During her struggle, a woman's voice called through her closed door, "How are you doing in there, sweetie?"

"Almost...done, Mom."

The girl eventually got her suitcase closed and sighed against it when the last _zip_ was made. She then went over to her desk on the opposite wall and picked up a deck of four cards. The backs were patterned in an intricate splattering of red, green, and purple.

The girl climbed onto the fire escape outside her window and looked out at her home, a magnificent city set against an orange and pink sky. Standing there, she tossed the cards between each hand, the sound of them shuffling in their travel.

Once satisfied, she held the deck vertically against her fingers. With one flick, she let go of the deck and the cards drifted out into the wind.

The girl smiled to herself, satisfied with her plan. She wasn't worried about the cards getting lost. They were going exactly where they needed to.

~

A young boy was perched on the stoop of a Brooklyn apartment building with a grin from ear to ear. He'd attracted an eager crowd throughout the evening, and they weren’t just there to see a handsome brunet boy perform card tricks.

His smile remained on his face as he asked, "Alright, alright, who's next?"

A blonde girl waved her hand and cried, "Ooh! Me!"

"Alright, come on over."

As she stepped forward, the boy brandished the cards and stated, "Pick a card, little lady. Show it to the crowd, but don't show it to me."

The girl plucked the six of clubs and showed it to the others. She put it back into the deck, and the boy shuffled each one. He looked through the pile while he shuffled but began furrowing his brow at the deck. Shuffling again, his expression stayed the same.

Eventually, he declared, "Hey, look, I'm sorry, but I can't find your card in here. It's almost like it disappeared."

At once, the crowd grew disappointed and prepared to leave. Before they could, the girl began scratching at the back of her neck.

The boy noticed and asked, "Something wrong?" He tried to hold back a smirk, but he couldn’t keep it down for long.

The girl pulled her hand down the back of her shirt then brought it back up. In her hand was the six of clubs. She showed it off to everyone, which was met with rapturous applause.

Once the boy saw it, he smiled. "I knew it had to be here somewhere."

This caused a slight chuckle from the crowd as he began shuffling the cards again. While he did, his eyes drifted on a singular card in the deck. A card that didn't look like the other fifty-two.

~

An African American girl sat in a small lavender-colored tent in Coney Island. She was dressed to resemble a fortune teller, wearing a green shirt of light material, dozens of beads around her neck, and blonde-streaked curly brown hair trailing past her shoulders. Her hand graced over the three tarot cards in front of her, giving her client a kind yet mischievous smile.

The woman sitting before her asked in an anxious manner, "A-Are you sure that it's true?"

"Ma'am, I assure you: The cards never lie." The girl spoke in a quiet, calming tone, meant to sound reassuring and mysterious.

While the girl gathered up her tarot cards, her guest sighed, "I hope so."

As she got up to leave, the girl cleared her throat and began to slouch in her seat. No longer acting, her voice took on her natural, deep tone that told everyone who heard her that she was a born-and-bred New Yorker. She called, "Oh, uh, Nancy? It is Nancy, right?"

The woman nodded.

"Yeah, uh, why don't you ease up on John? He doesn't know about you and Paulie, so you better treat him good before he does find out."

The woman looked at her fortune-teller with panic in her eyes. "How did...I didn't..."

The girl fired her a look that said, “Come on,” then waved her hand to shoo her out.

Taken aback, the woman rushed out of the tent.

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed, gathering up her tarot cards. “Some people just don’t like their fortunes,” she muttered.

Once her cards were gathered, she noticed a stray card on the table. It wasn't one of her own.

~

Secerak steps outside the fortune teller’s tent, a young boy with short brown hair was displaying a hypnotist show for any curious patron who wanted to see. He was working with a woman who stood firm in her place on the wooden boardwalk. As the boy wrapped his hand around her head, his thumb placed on her forehead, she began to close her eyes.

He explained, "Now when I let go and snap my fingers, you'll forget very little but essential things. And..." The boy let go and snapped his fingers.

The woman opened her eyes and looked around, confused written on her face. He asked her, "What's your name, cutie?"

"I'm..."

The woman started out confident but began to grow confused.

"What's the matter? You can't remember?"

"No, sorry."

"Oh, that's alright, that's alright."

This seemed to elicit a laugh from the crowd as the boy continued his act.

"Let's try something else. You want to count to ten for me?"

"Sure. Uh, one, two, three, four, five, six...six..."

"You do know there's more, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I do. I just...I don't know, I can't remember it."

"Not at all?"

"Not at all."

"You know what? That's okay. In just a few seconds, you'll remember it all. Trust me."

The boy placed his hand around her head again for a second then snapped his fingers. The woman became dazed and looked around again.

"You alright?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Great. So you want to tell me your name?"

"Jill."

"Jill, that's lovely. So Jill, do you know what number comes between six and eight?"

"Seven...” Jill said, confused by the question.

"That's right, seven. Let's give it up for Jill, everyone!"

The crowd proceeded to applaud, and Jill walked back to her boyfriend, mumbling, "Babe, what just happened?"

People began to toss money into a fedora at the boy’s feet as they left his makeshift stage.

The boy smiled at them and waved as he bent down. "Thanks. Thank you,” he said. “Have a good night."

Once everyone was gone, he picked up the hat to sift through how much he made. He looked in and mumbled the amount to himself as his fingers shifted through the assorted bills. He stopped his counting once he found something inside that didn't resemble money. The boy picked it up and found it to resemble an average playing card.

~

One of the only people left inside the New York University library was a Chinese girl sitting at a table in the center of the room. She clutched the tip of her shoulder-length light brown hair as she read a book on the magician Lionel Shrike.

Finished for the night, the girl reached to her right to pick up her bookmark. What she held instead was a playing card. Turning it over from the multi-colored pattern on the back, she examined the symbol on the other side.

It was silver in color and resembled a horizontal line through three vertical rectangles, each a different length above or below the line. The girl knew what it was from the moment she laid eyes on it.

It was the symbol of the Four Horsemen.


	2. Chapter 2

J. Daniel Atlas was greeted to the sound of a gentle knock against his apartment door. "I'll be there in a sec!" he called.

After about three seconds, the knock turned into an incessant banging. Daniel sighed then made his way over to the door.

"Okay, okay! I'm right here, Morgan. You don't need to-"

Daniel opened the door to find an empty hallway waiting for him. He shook his head and blinked a few times with a scowl. He poked his head out and looked around, mumbling, “What...?”

Every direction was quiet, leaving Daniel with the dim lighting of his apartment complex and not a person in sight. With a shrug, Daniel shut the door and turned around. His shoulders began to slump the moment he saw the back of a brunette head poking out from behind his couch with a pink suitcase next to it.

A small smirk creeped onto Daniel's face as he fished through his pants pocket and pulled out the queen of diamonds. Holding his hand steady, he flicked the card towards his guest, the object swishing through the air. Once it made contact with the head, a loud pop filled the space, causing the head to vanish.

Daniel dashed over to find a brown wig lying on his hardwood living room floor. He picked it up and raised his eyebrows when he found a popped balloon and his card lying face up underneath it.

As he surveyed the scene, a voice asked, "Really, Dad?"

Daniel turned around to see his daughter, Morgan, sitting atop a stool by his kitchen counter with an empty glass in hand and a smug smirk on her face. Her real wavy dark brown hair sat on top of her pale-skinned face, making her bright blue eyes almost pop out of her head.

Morgan continued, "What if that actually _had_  been me sitting there? Do you have any idea on the gash you could've given me?"

Daniel chuckled to himself. "I have to humor myself sometimes." He walked over to her and gave her a kiss, greeting, "Hey, sweetie. How you doing?"

"Good, good. You?"

"Good, yeah, same with me."

Daniel walked around to the other side of the counter to pour Morgan a glass of seltzer. While he did, he asked, "So how's the studying?"

"Alright, I guess. You can't do _anything_ when you're undeclared. It's insane. They make you take _every_ single class in _every_  single subject because they think it'll help you 'find yourself.' And then, you attract all the kids that _used_ to be undeclared. And they’re all like-“ Morgan then leaned against the counter and exaggerated her voice in a breathy tone. “‘It just takes a little time. You just have to figure out what you really like and go from there. I know it’s a lot, but you’ll know in your heart when you’re ready.’”

Daniel chuckled as he watched his daughter lean back in her chair with an eye roll. "Yeah, I don't remember college being that fun either. But that's not the studying I meant."

"Oh, you mean the magic."

"Mm-hm."

"Well, that's going great. I can get myself in and out of a Zepplin Bend now."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Last time I tried, I did it in seven minutes flat."

Daniel raised a hand, and his daughter high fived it.

She continued, "But Mom came home while I was in the middle of doing it last time. She found me lying on my back on the bed with ropes tied around my wrist and ankles with ‘Barracuda’ blasting at the highest volume. You should have seen the look on her face. She threw a _major_ fit. She kept going off about how it'll cut my circulation or something." She scoffed as she took a sip of her seltzer. "She’s such a bitch."

"Hey, come on. You are not allowed to hate your mother."

"And why not?"

"Because _I_ hate your mother."

Daniel began to walk away from the counter as Morgan protested, "Oh, come on! That's not fair!"

"Morgan, it's practically a universal law that a kid can't hate their parents. Although, parents _are_ allowed to hate each other."

"Did you hate your parents at my age?"

Daniel gave a blank stare in Morgan's direction, the latter waiting for an answer with a patient glance. He eventually shook his head and replied, "You know what? Uh, I think you should unpack your things. What about you?"

"Yeah, alright. But I'll get an answer out of you later."

"You can try, but it won't work."

Morgan picked herself up from the stool as Daniel began picking up the scraps of balloon behind the couch. She didn't move for some time, staring at her father as he worked. Eventually, she asked, "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you miss it?"

Daniel froze, his body hunched over the floor with an outstretched hand. Clearing his throat, he stood up and answered, "You're going to have to be a little more specific than that. There's a lot of things I might miss."

Morgan, her arms crossed over her black shirt, rolled her eyes with a smirk. "The other Horsemen. Performing with them. Do you miss it?"

Daniel kept his back turned to her with his eyes staring at the floor. His mind traveled back almost twenty years as familiar faces and daring feats flashed before him like a blur.

When he was ready, he said, "To tell you the truth, um...You know, it's all fun and games when you start. But life happens. People...move on, they realize, they-"

"-Get hurt."

Daniel closed his eyes, letting out a small breath. "Yeah, yeah, that....that too."

The two stood in the center of the apartment, letting the silent atmosphere surround them. Morgan stared at the broken man before her and reached out her arm to put it on his shoulder. When she heard the sigh exit his mouth, she pulled it back and dropped it to her side.

Morgan rocked on her feet for a moment, her head turned to the side. When the silence grew too much for her, she cleared her throat. "I should probably unpack."

"Yeah, I...I think that's best."

As Daniel turned around to throw out the balloon, Morgan clutched her suitcase and walked towards her bedroom. Before she fully left, she turned back around and asked, "Oh, Dad? Thanks for the twenty bucks you owe me."

"The what I owe you?" It was the first time he looked at her since they had left the kitchen.

Morgan flicked her empty hand back and suddenly clutched a $20 bill in her hand. Flashing a smirk at her father, she grabbed her suitcase again and walked off, leaving Daniel to shake his head with a smile at the counter.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Once sunset descended over the Big Apple, Morgan left the apartment to take a walk around the city she called home. As she made her way down the busy sidewalks, she noticed everyone that passed her by. They all looked so average, so unassuming. They didn’t have a clue about the sensation they would wake up to the next day.

Lost in her thoughts, Morgan didn't notice the man ahead of her and bumped into him. As they collided, her hand clasped onto his back then moved up to tap the back of his neck.

Morgan pulled herself off and looked up at the older man before her, adorned with curly black hair and a small beard to match in a gray suit. She said in a sweet-sounding voice, "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright, really."

The two sidestepped away from each other, exchanged polite smiles, then went on their way. Morgan maintained a smirk on her face as she walked off. Walking straight ahead, she was unable to see the man pick up a card he found on the back of his jacket and examine it.

After traveling down several more blocks, Morgan reached an abandoned warehouse outside the city. It was covered wall to wall in dirty glass panels tinted black, some possessing small cracks in their frames. Morgan gazed up at the structure with a faint smile, her chest rising and falling as she took a silent breath. When she was ready, she stepped forward and pushed her hand on the wooden door.

The door swung open in a slow creak, causing Morgan to poke her head inside. When the coast was clear, she stepped into the warehouse and pushed the door shut behind her.

Morgan placed her hands in her jean pockets and roamed about the space. Little light shone through the windows, giving the warehouse an almost orange glow to its tan interior. In the center of one room was a large wooden table, where it was surrounded by empty bulletin boards and a long set of stairs lined along the wall.

Morgan’s smile grew wider as she stood in the center, basking in the space. She rocked back and forth on her feet, and her head turned from left to right then left again.

Her awe was interrupted by a voice calling from above, "Hey!"

Morgan turned around and looked up to see a Chinese girl around her age with shoulder-length light brown hair staring down at her from the top of the stairs.

"What are you doing here? You can't be here!" she yelled down.

"Oh, I can't? And why's that?"

"This is private property! I can call the authorities right now, and they can turn you out of here!"

"Oh, I'm afraid you can't do that, Jin. Because if I'm not mistaken, I'm the one that summoned you here."

The girl, now identified as Jin, seemed to look taken aback by Morgan's comment.

Morgan let a smirk appear on her face, and a small chuckle left her mouth. "Bet you weren't expecting that from me, now were you? Come on. Let me see it. It'll be proof that I mean it."

Jin reached into her pocket and pulled out the playing card she had received the night before.

"Yup, that's the one. Well, come on. We don't have all night."

Jin rushed down the stairs, her platform shoes clunking against the metal material, and joined Morgan's side. She asked, "So who are you, then?"

"Ah ah! You get that once the others come."

"There are others?"

Morgan scoffed as she shook her head, unable to hide the rolling of her eyes.

Just then, a boy and a girl strolled in, both whistling as they look around the space. The boy was white with thin brown hair while the girl was African American with blonde-streaked curly brown hair.

"Check this place _out_ , bro," the girl said.

Noticing the others, the boy let out a breath. "Thank God. We weren't sure if we were the only ones in for this ride."

"Oh, please. Like I would make you all do this alone," Morgan said.

It wasn’t long before a handsome boy with a clean-cut head of brown hair straggled into the room. "Oh, uh, hey," he greeted, flashing a smile. He revealed his card to the others, causing Morgan to nod at him.

The other boy spoke up, "Oh, right! Here's ours too, if you need them." He pulled out his card, as did the other girl. He slapped the new boy’s arm with his backhand then said, “Thanks for the tip.”

“I’m glad to see you two are at least prepared. Flighty, but prepared.” Morgan then clapped her hands together, her smirk never leaving her face. “Well, now that you're all here, let's begin."

Morgan led the group over to the table in the center, not noticing the brother and sister exchanging a confused glance. While the others stood on opposite sides of the table, Morgan placed herself at the head of it.

She began, "So why don't we start this right with some introductions? My name is Morgan Atlas."

"Like Daniel Atlas?" the African American girl asked, raising a brow at the name.

”Ooh, aren't we the smart one. Considering your cards all have the symbol of the Four Horsemen on it, that answer's yes.”

“My dad says he’s an ass,” the girl’s brother chimed in.

”Hate to break it to you, but so is yours. We can’t all have Fathers of the Year, now can we? Now I already know all of your names, so why don't you introduce yourselves to each other?"

The group turned to look at each other with blank stares. After a pause, the boy that entered last cleared his throat and made a small wave. "Shawn Wilder. Hey."

The girl and her brother chorused separately, "Tara."

"Robin."

"McKinney."

Jin beamed at the others and greeted, "Wei Ling Jin."

"Great. That's settled, then,” Morgan spoke up. “Now to the matter of business at hand. I've called you all here for a singular mission: I want to get the Horsemen back together. And I don't mean our parents. I mean us."

"Us?" they chorused.

Shawn scoffed. "I barely perform outside of my block, and you expect to go around the country doing tricks?"

"That's precisely what I expect. I've been wanting to do this for years. I've looked into each and every one of you, and I know you have the potential to be just as great as your parents were."

"Look, I don't know, man. You know how much trouble the Horsemen got in with the FBI? I don't really want to risk that."

Morgan whipped her head around to face Shawn, her tone becoming tense as she spoke. "You're not up for it? Fine. The same goes for the rest of you. Because I won't quit because of your nerves. Just know that this is still happening with or without you."

Everyone cast their eyes down at their feet, shifting in place with a scrunched lip on their faces.

"That's what I thought. As I was saying, I've looked into all of you, and I know that we all have our parents' skills. I can do illusions. Shawn, you can do sleight of hand and cards, right?"

"You bet."

"And you two. So do you both do the mind reading and hypnosis, or is it one and the other?"

"I'm the hypnotist. Tara's the mentalist," Robin replied.

"Wonderful. So that’s settled, then."

Jin spoke up, "But what about me? Why am I here? My father wasn't a Horseman."

"No, but he's a member of the Eye. And you are too. You know where each and every Eye hideout is in the world. You can provide us with our rehearsal space and living quarters because I'm not risking putting us in a hotel.”

”So that’s it? I’m your little chauffeur? I’m just your tour guide as you travel this great country known as the U.S.A.? Would you like me to tell you where you can get the best hamburgers on the East Coast?”

Shawn let out a chuckle. “I like her.”

”If you would let me finish,” Morgan growled at Jin with a glare. “I was going to say that I do know that you're studying magic at NYU, so I want you to perform with us too."

Jin opened her mouth to respond but found herself choking on her words. She stammered, "How did you-"

"Your disguise as a theatre major is cute. I wish I thought of that. But I’m stuck in the undeclared route, though that’s a story for another day. So do you think you're good?"

"I'd like to think so."

"That's the confidence I like to hear. You all should take notes from Jin here."

Jin made a quiet scoff and turned to the side, mumbling, “Sure. Now, I’m useful.”

Tara cleared her throat. "I do have one question, Madam Dictator over there. You're trying to get the Horsemen back together, right? Where's Dylan Shrike's kid? If you're such an expert, I would think you'd know to get a Shrike here."

Morgan turned her gaze onto Tara and leaned over the table, her eyes firing up from her remark. In a quiet voice, she explained at a rapid pace, "You want to know where Dylan Shrike's kid is? Nonexistent. Dylan never had a kid. He never got married. He never even had some fling and a bastard kid. You want to know why? Because over twenty years ago, Dylan decided he was finally going to be like his daddy and get out into the magic world. He said he figured out where his father went wrong with his safe trick and decided to wow everyone by plunging himself into the Chelsea Harbor inside a safe. He was supposed to come out, but he never did. A crew went searching for the safe and found it, pulled it up, and saw his dead body lying inside. So if you knew anything, you'd know he couldn't have a life because he killed it. If you did your research and actually cared about this, you'd know that Dylan's death is the reason the Horsemen broke up and stopped performing together in the first place. So. Tell me again that I don't know what I'm talking about." The last sentence came out as a threat, Morgan's voice low and sounding like a growl.

Tara, keeping a steady gaze on the girl, stated, "And if _you_ knew anything, princess, you would know that we’re all pretty new at this and are kind of being thrust into this without a choice.”

”You didn’t have to come here tonight, Tara.”

”So I think that you should take it down a notch before you act like you’re ready to fill in Dylan’s shoes. But since we’re dealing with a deranged superfan over here and value our lives, I’m going to apologize. You have my permission to keep talking."

Morgan made a mock gasp and looked touched. "Oh, I have your permission. How sweet. Thank you.”

She straightened her back and took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. She then walked over to a projection light sitting in a corner of the space. Turning it on, a blue projection of several images flashed over the table. Morgan walked back over and moved the projections to pair with what she was talking about when explaining.

"Our first show is going to be in Chicago. Randall Fairchild, global media mogul, billionaire, and so-called humanitarian, is going to be holding a conference there in three days detailing his new mission for that charity of his he parades around with. What the media doesn't tell you is that Randall's charity is the reason he's a billionaire in the first place. That money never goes to where he says it will. It goes straight into his pocket. So my plan is we hijack the conference, do some tricks, take care of Randall, expose him for the bastard that he is, and he'll be arrested right at the show. Questions?"

"Uh, yeah,” Robin spoke up, raising his hand. “I follow Fairchild on all of his social media, and he hasn't said a word about holding a conference in Chicago this week.”

"Don't worry about that. I ran into him today. He took the bait perfectly."

"So what are we supposed to tell our parents?" Shawn asked. "They're going to notice that we're gone and performing across the country."

"You tell them the truth. If I know them—and I like to think I do—“

”Stalker,” Tara coughed.

”-They'll want the Horsemen to come back to the world. So are we still in?"

Morgan placed her hand on the table, waiting for the others to join in.

Shawn placed his hand down over hers, staring at her with a strong look of determination in his eyes. Tara and Robin joined in, the former shrugging before doing so, and Jin eventually relented as well. The group then raised their hands up,sealing the deal.

With a glimmer in her eyes, Morgan stated, "I see good things from this, people. Good things."

"So when do we leave?" Jin asked.

Morgan’s smirk returned, and she flashed it at each of her new accomplices. "Bright and early tomorrow."

 


	4. Chapter 4

The New Horsemen woke up early the next morning to arrive at J.F.K Airport on time. They each took one suitcase with them, carrying sparse clothes and their individual gear. Catching their flight wasn’t what they were worried about. It was booking their seats on the plane that was the issue at hand.

Morgan was perched at the arrival gate with a laptop in her lap, surveying the scene with an occasional glance up from the screen. People walked past her to and fro, bustling to reach their own flights. They took no notice of the sole person waiting at the gate or the unusually young flight attendant waiting close by. They were surrounded by their own personal bubbles. Morgan didn’t mind, though. The less witnesses, the better.

Morgan turned around to look at the disguised Jin standing at the gate, her sky blue flight attendant uniform almost matching the sunny day outside. The two girls nodded to each other before Morgan turned back to her laptop.

She touched the earpiece attached to her left ear and said, "Jin's in position. You guys ready?"

"Yup," the others chorused.

"Alright, then. While you guys are doing your tasks, I'll be hacking into Randall's bank account. Robin, you're up first."

"Got it." Robin smirked to himself as he popped the collar of his airport employee disguise. “Let’s make some magic.”

”Please don’t say that ever again. I want us to be taken seriously, and that just ruined it.”

”Right, sorry.”

Robin entered a technician's room, where another employee surveyed flight data on a monitor. He greeted, "Hey, man!"

The employee looked from side to side as confusion entered his eyes. "Uh, hi."

"Hey, did you check out these new name tags? They look pretty sick."

"New name tags?"

"Yeah! Come here. I'll show you."

The employee leaned in close to Robin's name tag but didn't have much time to look. Robin began spinning it and, as it spun, showed the word "Sleep" displayed on it.

The employee fell unconscious on sight, causing him to lean forward in his seat. Robin caught him and muttered, "Okay, enough of that." He placed the employee's head on the desk and pushed him aside in his chair.

Robin perched himself in front of the monitor, trying to find the morning’s flight to Chicago. Once it was located, he switched out five passengers in first class and typed in aliases for themselves. He clicked his earpiece and said to Morgan, "I got us in."

"Great job. Shawn, you ready?"

"You bet."

Shawn was perched at a kiosk at the front of the airport, obtaining the five boarding passes just created for them. He typed in the information and aliases Morgan had given them the night before and was able to get their boarding passes within seconds.

As he walked away from the kiosk, Shawn said into his earpiece, "Passes are in my hand."

"Nice job. Tara, take us home."

"Already on it."

Tara, dressed as a baggage claim attendant, pushed the cart containing all of their suitcases. Once it reached the belt on their flight, she placed them on and they entered the trail to the plane.

She clicked her earpiece and stated, "All through, Chief."

"As...am...I." Morgan made some last minute clicks on her laptop then pulled her fingers away from the keyboard. She watched with a smirk as Randall Fairchild’s information was downloaded into her files, safely tucked away in her possession.

"Nice work, Horsemen," she told the others.

Morgan closed her laptop and tucked it into a backpack. Throwing it over her shoulder, she left the gate and met up with the other three past security. Once the group was together, they walked back towards the gate.

Morgan explained, "Alright, we still just need Jin's part be successful, and then, we are off to Chicago."

They began to walk off until a voice echoed through the airport, "Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on what I'm about to show you!"

The Horsemen turned toward the gate to their right, where a crowd had begun to gather by its wall. They walked over to see and found a boy slightly older than them with fluffy black hair and chiseled features standing by a seat against the window. He addressed, "At this gate here today, you can tell the stranger sitting beside you on your flight that you saw me chain myself to this chair and break free."

Morgan made a quiet scoff and rolled her eyes. _Another_ _amateur_.

The boy continued, "But I'm sure you're asking, 'Wait. Where's the handcuffs?' Well, folks, it's all just a flick of the wrist." He flicked both of his hands and was instantly handcuffed with a metal chain attached to both the cuffs and the chair.

The crowd made a gentle applause and murmured praises to their companions. The New Horsemen were awed by the trick, joining in on the applause. Morgan couldn’t help but join in, but her scrunched lip said she wasn’t nearly as impressed as her companions were.

”Whoa! Check that guy out!” Robin cried.

Shawn added, “I wonder what he’d be like if he joined us.”

”He’d probably pull off some better tricks than Morgan’s shit,” Tara remarked with a smirk.

The girl in question ignored her comment, instead replying, “Shhhh! Let’s just see where this goes.”

Before the boy could talk more, a security guard came over and stated, "Alright, alright. So you're the punk who stole my handcuffs."

"Me? Sir, I assure you, these cuffs are my own personal property. But if you insist that they're yours, I'll gladly bring them back into your possession."

The boy flicked his wrists again, and the cuffs and chain vanished from thin air. The crowd applauded more lively than before, but the guard wasn't amused by the truck.

"Very cute, kid. But I'm going to need those cuffs back."

"Well, alright then. Let me help you out with that."

The boy gripped the guard's wrists and flicked them, causing him to now be chained to the chair. This elicited a chuckle from the crowd and the guard’s seething anger.

"Hey!" he cried, struggling to break free from the trap. "Get me out of these!"

"Oh, of course, officer!” The boy shrugged at the crowd. “Cuffs, am I right? Never know when they'll appear. Now where's that key?"

He felt around in his pockets, but a frown soon appeared on his face. "Hm. I thought it was here. Let me check the floor." The boy bent down below the chair and crawled around the area, his body almost slithering against the floor.

After a moment, the guard bent down as well to find that the boy had vanished from the scene. Still chained to the chair, he tugged on the cuffs and cried out, "Hey! Get back here!"

Everyone looked around with their heads darting from side to side. The Horsemen looked around as well but were met with no result.

“What the hell...?” Robin muttered as he scratched his head.

Morgan eventually spotted a hooded figure walking at a distance from the gate. The figure turned its head around for a moment to reveal the boy’s face hiding underneath his hood.

Morgan signaled for the others to follow her, and they walked toward him. The girl caught up to him first and stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

With a smirk, she greeted, "That was some trick you pulled off back there."

He pulled off his hood and made a bashful grin at the girl. "Glad to see there are still fans of magic out there."

"But venues like these, they're...Well, they're just so small. How'd you like to perform for, say, a packed house in Chicago in two days?"

”Wait, seriously?” Shawn asked. “I was joking when I said that.”

”Well, you make good jokes, then.”

The boy crossed his arms in an attempt to appear cooler than he was. "Go on."

"You ever hear of the Four Horsemen?"

"They’re only the greatest magicians to ever perform onstage and are my inspiration."

"That's what I like to hear. Well, I'm restarting them. Bringing them to a new age, if you will. And we actually don't have an escape artist like you on our team."

"Trust me. I am much more than an escape artist."

"Even better. So are you in?"

"As it turns out, I'm already heading for Chicago myself."

Morgan's smirk remained as she gave her head a slight tilt. “What a coincidence.” She held out her hand and greeted, "Morgan Atlas."

"Atlas? Like-"

"Yes, like Daniel. I like to think I’m a younger and just as pretty version of him."

Tara turned to the side and made her finger hover before her open mouth, almost gagging at the comment.

The boy shook Morgan’s hand and replied, "Eddie Dillon."

"Welcome aboard, Eddie. Now come on. We don't want to miss our flight."

The five soon arrived at their gate, where Jin's part of the plan was in motion. As the flight attendant, she was trying to sway the passengers that Robin had switched out away from the flight. "I'm sorry, but your names just aren't on this flight. I'm not sure what else I can do."

The disgruntled passengers sighed then walked off with their belongings.

Jin looked at Morgan and smiled with a thumbs up. She then leaned into the microphone before her to call off for passengers to board the flight.

Once everyone else had boarded and the Horsemen remained at the gate, Jin joined them in boarding. She made small alterations to her outfit as she walked so that it appeared less as a uniform and more of the outfit of a passenger.

Noticing Eddie, she asked, "Who's this?"

"This is Eddie Dillon," Morgan replied. "He'll be joining us as a Horsemen. Eddie, this is everyone else."

"We have names," Robin spoke up with an edge.

"You can get acquainted on the flight. It isn’t urgent that you have play Icebreaker with one another, is it?"

Without another word, the six stepped into the terminal and prepared themselves for their flight.


	5. Chapter 5

Ian McCullough pounded his fist onto the silver desk in his New York office. He grumbled at the laptop screen before him and pushed as many buttons as he could to figure out what the hell was going on.

An agent sitting beside him poked his head out to look at him and asked, "Something up, McCullough?"

"Did you see this video, Harrison?"

"You're going to have to be more specific."

Ian sighed and motioned for his friend to come over.

Once Harrison was by his side, Ian explained, "Bell told me I had to check this out when I came in and investigate it. It was posted at midnight last night. All he could tell me was that it meant trouble. But I'm just...not getting it."

Ian clicked on the "Replay" option, and the video restarted. It was a video of Randall Fairchild explaining that he had new plans to share to the public regarding his charity and he was going to be holding a conference revealing them in Chicago the next day.

Harrison remarked, "I don't get it. It's just that Fairchild guy saying that he's holding a conference."

"Exactly. But wait until the end."

As a date, time, and place appeared on the screen, it cut away to show a symbol of three silver rectangles and a line through them. A female voiceover said in an ominous tone, "We'll be waiting for you..."

Befire anything else could happen, the video ended.

The two men stared at the screen in confusion, their eyes blinking in a rapid pace.

Ian asked, "Do you have any idea what that symbol is? I've run it through every database and searched every gang and terrorist symbol, but I got nothing.”

"I’m sorry to add to your frustration, but I have no idea."

"You really don't know?" a voice asked.

The two turned around to see a slender African American woman that was much younger than them standing in the doorway. She continued, "It's the symbol of the Four Horsemen."

Ian and Harrison chuckled at the name. The former asked, "What, is that some new terrorist group or hacker?"

The woman walked over to them and clicked her tongue. "To think you've been here longer than me. Move over."

Ian slid his chair to the side to give her access to the laptop. She typed a mile a minute until she clicked on a specific video from YouTube. It played clips from the Four Horsemen's various performances over the years, from their first show in Las Vegas to their big New Year’s performance in London to their more recent shows.

While it played, the woman explained, "The Four Horsemen were a group of magicians from over twenty years ago. They performed all over the country and occasionally overseas as well. They mesmerized their audiences with illusions, hypnotism, you name it. The catch? The main purpose of their performances was that, right in the middle of them, they'd rob banks and expose the upper class for who they truly were. But they'd give out the money they stole to their audience, never keeping any for themselves."

"You're telling me that a band of magic thieves are, what, working with Randall Fairchild? Come on, Simmons. Be serious about this." "I am. And you’re might be right. They could be working with Fairchild. But they could also be pulling off something more. That's why this is such a big deal right now."

"My question is, if they performed twenty years ago, why are they resurfacing now?" Harrison asked.

Ian replied, "People make comebacks, Harrison."

"Actually, there is a reason," Elle Simmons spoke up. "Turns out that one of our fellow agents, Dylan Rhodes, was the leader of the Horsemen and was really working on their side.”

As if on cue, a picture of Dylan appeared in the video, along with footage of his performance in the Hudson and his funeral later on.

”After leaving the FBI, he thought he could try to make a name for himself in the magic world. Unfortunately, he was killed during his first and only performance. The Four Horsemen haven't performed since. So whoever's in charge of this must be fans of the originals and want to bring them back into the limelight."

Harrison smiled at Elle. "How come you know so much about these guys, intern?"

Elle almost seemed to blush at the question. "I was a big fan back in the day. I went to a performance in Philadelphia when I was in college."

Harrison chuckled. “You were once a nerd. How about that?”

"Well, we have to go after them, right?” Ian asked. “In case they pull some stunt at Fairchild's conference. So who's in charge of the investigation?"

Elle made a small chuckle. "That's what I came to tell you. It's you and me, McCullough. I was going to tell you to watch the video first, but you were one step ahead of the game. Nice work."

Ian raised an eyebrow at his new partner. "I'm sorry, you're _included_ in this? You're an intern. You get coffee, you take notes. You don't go in the field."

"Bell said he sees potential in me. I told him about how I know so much about the Four Horsemen, and he was impressed. He says I’m perfect for the job and will know what I’m doing. So he picked me to go with you to go after the 'band of magic thieves'."

Elle slammed a pair of plane tickets in front of Ian and smirked. "Better start packing for Chicago. And maybe do some research of your own so you’ll know what we’re up against. Or I can just explain everything on the way there, if you want.”

Elle turned around and began to saunter out of the room. Befire she left, she turned back around and snapped her fingers at the two agents. She formed them into finger guns and said, “Nerd power.” With a smirk, she turned around and left the room.

Ian looked at the plane tickets and rested his head in his hand. Shaking it, he sighed, “I can’t believe I’m going after magicians with an intern.”

Harrison chuckled with a smirk. "Trust me. You'll have lots of fun with that girl."


	6. Chapter 6

People began to flood into the auditorium where Randall Fairchild's conference would be held. The room was filled with excited chatter from businessmen and reporters eager to hear about the mogul’s latest project. Fairchild’s smiling face was plastered on a screen onstage along with his name printed beside it in white curlicue letters.

No one could see the Horsemen hiding behind the screen, their eyes glued to the growing crowd.

“They just keep coming in. It’s like ten more people sit down by the second,” Shawn mused.

With a smirk, Robin said, “The power of subliminal advertising, my friend. Works every time.”

”Funny, it didn’t help you get a date for prom,” Tara remarked as she stood beside him. The comment led to her getting a small punch in the shoulder from her brother.

Morgan ignored the group and kept her sparkling eyes on their audience. "They're going to love this," she whispered.

Her fingers fell into her black jacket pocket and pulled out the picture she always carried with her. She stared at it for some time, tracing her fingers over her parents’ profiles. After a moment, she took a deep breath then stuffed the picture back in her pocket.

Morgan turned around and beamed at her fellow Horsemen, each dressed in their own unique black attire. She clapped her hands together then addressed, "Okay, this is it. The moment where we get us into the spotlight and bring the Horsemen back. Remember what you're doing and..."

"Don't screw up," they chorused in identical monotones.

"Beautiful." Morgan's smile faded when she noticed something off. "Where's Jin?"

"Here! I’m here!" Jin rushed over to the others, wearing a sparkling strapless black dress, the skirt ruffled and billowing our from underneath the velvet fabric. Her hair was styled into a bun, and a white feather was stuck behind her left ear.

The Horsemen looked at her in awe, some growing embarrassed by their simple attire.

"What are you wearing?" Robin asked as he tried to hide the blush forming on his form.

"My outfit for the show."

"You're going to wear _that_?" Eddie asked in shock.

Jin nodded with a demure smile. "I've always felt that magic was an elegant affair; An art that deserved the very best for both its performer and audience."

"Well, it's a magic show, not the Met Gala," Morgan stated in a blunt tone. "Go for something simpler for the next show."

Just then, an announcer's voice boomed through the auditorium, "Ladies and gentlemen, Randall Fairchild."

The man Morgan had bumped into on the street stepped onto the stage, smiling to the applauding crowd. He unfurled his arms and blew kisses to several people before him.

Ian and Elle watched with suspicious glares from their balcony seats as the conference began. While Ian wanted to be anywhere but there, Elle’s face had a hint of intrigue as she watched the billionaire.

Randall began talking about his charity and was about to detail events he was hosting that were coming up. Before he could, the auditorium was clouded in darkness. A loud murmur filled the room as everyone’s heads turned from left to right.

It wasn’t long before the screen replaced Randall’s face with the glowing Four Horsemen symbol.

”Here we go,” Elle whispered, causing Ian to glance at her with a raised brow. Before he could ask, each of the Horsemen’s voices spoke over the loudspeakers.

"Two decades ago, a group of magicians called the Four Horsemen graced stages all over the country."

"The world, even."

"They delighted audiences with their tricks and even their rewards."

"They've been silent for over twenty years, never having been seen since."

"Until now."

Techno music began to play through the auditorium, ushering the eager Horsemen onstage. The group was met with applause by the audience while Randall stepped to the side of the stage, unable to hold back his shock

Morgan greeted, "Hello, Chicago! We are the Four Horsemen. Well, the New Horsemen, I should say."

"And there's six of us, so we're not exactly the _Four_ Horsemen anymore," Tara added.

"Yes, yes, you're right." Morgan let out a bitter chuckle as she fired a smile filled with malice at the girl.

Randall went over to the group and hissed, "What are you doing? I have this spot booked for me!"

"Oh, we know," Shawn said. "Didn't they tell you you had an opening act?"

Randall was too baffled to answer, so he returned to his place offstage to watch.

Morgan explained, "Before we get started, why don't we introduce ourselves? Role call!"

"Shawn."

"Tara."

"Robin."

"Jin."

"Eddie."

"Morgan. Great, got that settled."

This elicited a chuckle from the audience.

Ian was getting ready to stand up but Elle clutched his hand. She looked at her partner and scolded, "They haven't done anything yet. Just wait."

Ian rolled his eyes in reply and sat back down.

Morgan smirked at her audience and said, "Let's get on with the show."

The audience clapped as Tara stepped to the front of the stage. She addressed, "Alright, you're going to have to help me out, guys. I'm looking for someone here tonight, but I can't seem to find them. Now I'm thinking of a certain..."

Eyes closed, her hands curved and she placed them on the top of her head, resembling ears. "Mouse."

The audience let out another chuckle at the gesture.

Tara opened her eyes and continued, "Mickey? Is there a Mickey here?"

"Right here!" A man waved his hand from one of the front rows then stood up.

"Very nice. How are you doing tonight, Mr. Mouse?"

"Doing good," he chuckled.

"Great, great. Now I understand your girlfriend's here tonight. How about if she stands up for us?"

A woman to Mickey's right then stood up.

"Lovely. Now don't tell me your name. Instead, start saying the alphabet backwards for me."

The woman raised her brow at Tara but did as she said. "Z, Y, X, W, V-"

"Stop. Your name starts with a V, right?"

She nodded, a bit taken aback.

"Vicki?"

The woman chuckled then said, "Yeah."

"Ah, I knew it. Vicki and Mickey. Okay, I won't judge. Well, what I'm about to tell you is something you don't know. Your dear Mickey has something for you in his...left pant pocket."

Mickey made a nervous laugh. "N-No, I don't think so."

"Oh, don't do that to me, pretty boy. You have something in your left pant pocket. It's in a nice little box, tiny, about...four karats, perfect for Vicki's dainty finger."

Vicki turned to her boyfriend and asked, "Is she serious?"

"Well...” Mickey let out a sigh. “Yeah." He reached into his pocket and, sure enough, unveiled a ring for her in a small navy blue box.

He explained, "I wasn't planning on doing this until tonight, but I guess I'm caught."

Tara shrugged. "That's what happens when you got a mentalist here. No need to ask her, Mickey. I already know her answer."

The happy couple proceeded to kiss, causing everyone in the room to clap. Elle politely joined in with a smile until Ian tapped on her arm to stop.

Tara walked back towards the others, high fiving Morgan on the way.

Eddie was next to step forward and said, "I'd like to have the lovely Jin assist me with this."

Jin walked over to him in a strut, brandishing handcuffs on a chain.

Eddie smirked at the crowd. "Ah, can't have a good trick without handcuffs. After all, handcuffs are a boy's best friend."

Morgan scoffed under her breath. "Oh, please."

Eddie fired a wink at her then returned to his audience,stating, "Can't please everyone."

The audience laughed while Morgan scrunched up her lips from her place onstage.

Jin stood on Eddie’s right and placed the handcuffs over his wrists. She held onto the chain and took several steps back until she was across from him.

He explained, "I'm gonna break out of these on the count of three. One. Two. Three!"

Jin yanked on the chain as hard as she could, causing the handcuffs to vanish. In its place, both the cuffs and chain had been turned into hundreds of colorful butterflies. Jin raised her hand, and they flew up to the ceiling, disappearing into the rafters above.

The audience made a rapturous applause at the feat. Genuinely impressed, Morgan turned to Eddie with a smirk and mumbled, "Very nice."

Even Ian had to admit he was impressed by the trick.

”That’s not a smile I see on your face, is it, McCullough?” Elle spoke up.

Ian’s pleasure vanished in an instant, and he cleared his throat. “No, n-no. Of course not.”

Shawn was next to step forward onstage, brandishing a deck of cards to the audience. "We're going to do something simple here. Pick a card, good sir."

He held the deck out to a man in the audience. He took one and studied it for a moment.

"Now just place it back in the deck."

The man did so, and Shawn handed the deck to Morgan. While he walked offstage, she shuffled the cards in an elaborate fashion, a trick taught to her by her father. When she finished, she explained, "Now I have no idea where your card went. So I can't possibly have a clue what it is, right?"

Shawn came back onstage with a blank easel before him. Morgan faced it and dealt every card in its direction. An array of red and white fluttered through the air until the cards landed on the easel, resembling the five of diamonds.

Turning back to the gentleman, Morgan asked, "Was this your card?"

He nodded with his mouth agape in shock.

Morgan lifted her arms in triumph, basking in the crowd’s applause. “That’s how it’s done,” she whispered.

Once the applause died down, she explained, "I'd like to have Mr. Fairchild here help us with our next trick."

Randall stepped back onstage, cautious as he approached the group.

Ian hissed to his partner, "Get ready, Simmons."

Robin took Randall's hand and said, "If you could just step right here, please."

He led him to the center of the stage while Morgan decreed, "Ladies and gentlemen, for our final trick, we are going to make Mr. Fairchild disappear before your very eyes. Jin, let's get this started."

“With pleasure.” Jin stood to the side of Robin and Randall and bent down to the floor. She slowly rose back up, lifting her arms the higher she went. As she rose, a bubble began to rise as well, encasing Robin and Randall. The two were lifted into the air with the crowd following its ascent in awe.

Shawn then took out a card from his deck and threw it towards them. The moment it made impact, the bubble popped and the two men vanished.

The crowd let out a collective gasp and took a moment before applauding for the feat.

Morgan then made her into center stage and addressed, "Now let's get to the real part of our show. Randall Fairchild, he's got this lovely little charity. Great guy, right? That's where you're wrong, I’m afraid."

"I'm sorry to say, folks," Tara continued, "But all that lovely money you've been donating to him? It's not going where you think."

"It goes right into his pocket," Eddie stated. "He finances your donations for his own personal sprees."

At this, the audience began to grow flustered, mumbling filling up the auditorium.

Shawn spoke up, "But don't worry. We can fix that."

"Jin, would you bring your butterfly friends back for us?" Morgan asked.

Jin nodded and raised her hand towards the rafters. The butterflies returned to the scene, fluttering over the stage and making their way to the audience. Jin waved her hand, and the creatures transformed into dollar bills, falling over everyone in the auditorium.

People reached up and grabbed as much money as they could, excited shouts echoing throughout the room. Morgan watched their frenzy in a firm stance, letting her pleased smirk shine across her face. It wasn’t long before she aimed it at Ian and Elle, making the two grip the arms of their seats.

Ian began to stand up, crying, "They know we're here! Go, go!"

The two ran out of the balcony and made their way down the auditorium stairs, their feet pounding on the carpet at a rapid pace.

Onstage, the five exclaimed, "Thank you! We are the Horsemen!"

They were then covered in a thick smoke, the smog coating every inch of the stage. By the time Ian and Elle reached it, the Horsemen had vanished without a trace.


	7. Chapter 7

The Horsemen reached the rooftop of the auditorium in no time and stood in the middle of it to regroup. Night had fallen over Chicago, but the moon shone over the group and made their black clothes almost glow over the city.

Tara looked around the area and felt herself growing nervous. "Robin’s coming, right?"

"Yeah, he'll be here. Don't worry," Morgan replied.

”Good. ‘Cause if you lost my brother-“

"He’s fine, Tara. Do you remember the plan? He’ll be here. We can’t wait for him, though. Just go! Go!"

The Horsemen were about to start running when Shawn looked back at Jin, who trailed at the back of the group. Surveying her dress, he remarked, "Do you regret wearing that now?"

Jin looked him in the eye and let a devious glint begin to enter in hers. Her fingers tugged at her waist, and she ripped away the large skirt of her dress, revealing a simpler black skirt underneath that went just above her knees.

The Horsemen looked at her in shock and took a moment to blink at the costume change.

Shawn couldn’t help but let a genuine smile cross onto his face as he chuckled. "Never mind, then."

"Are you two done with the fashion show?” Morgan scolded. “Because we gotta go before the FBI get us.”

Eddie took a step back and held his hands up by his head. "Whoa, shit! The FBI's here?"

"Well, yeah. With the way we advertised, they knew something sketchy would be going on here.”

”Blame Robin for that one,” Tara scoffed.

”Trust me, I will. Now let's stop this loitering bullshit and RUN!"

The Horsemen started running across the metal roof beneath them. They could see the ledge fast approaching in the distance, causing Shawn to let out a small whimper.

Morgan looked back at the sound and explained, "Don't question me. Just trust. Once we reach the edge, you jump."

The group reached the edge of the roof and jumped off without hesitating. The wind picked up underneath them, sending them tumbling down faster than expected.

Their fall was broken by a truck parked just below them in an alleyway. Landing in a pile of packing peanuts, the Horsemen tried to sit up as the truck began moving.

The driver poked his head out of the window and asked, "Miss me?"

Everyone looked over the edge to see Robin smiling at them from the driver's seat, poking his head out the window with a wave.

Tara chuckled and rested her arms on the truck. "You did say to me once that you thought you'd end up a bum."

Robin's smile faded, turning into a glare aimed at his sister. "Friendly reminder, sis, that I'm the one in control of this truck. I can dump your sorry ass out of it any time."

Morgan beamed at her fellow Horsemen and let herself fall against the soft packing peanuts around her. "Well done, Horsemen,” she said. “We leave tomorrow for our next show that’s in two days. I was able to book us on a private jet so we don't have to worry about being recognized."

"Where are we heading, boss?" Eddie asked as he inched himself closer to her.

Morgan smirked in his direction, her eyes sparkling with a plan in formation. "Our nation's proudest city."

~

Ian and Elle ran through every inch of the complex but had no luck in finding the Horsemen.

While they ran, the latter asked, "Do you have any idea if that was legit? What they said about Fairchild?"

"It is. I just spoke with Harrison. He looked into it, and it's all true."

"Well, it looks like we have seven people to arrest tonight."

Elle found a door at the end of a hall that led to the basement of the complex. She kicked it open, and the two ran down at top speed. Brandishing both a gun and a flashlight, they searched through the dim basement for any sign of the Horsemen.

The combined lights swerved around the area, showing the agents nothing but cardboard boxes scattered against the walls. They were to be expected. What wasn’t expected was an unconscious Randall slumped against the back wall. Once Ian shone a light on him, the man began to wake up, groaning as he pushed himself off the ground.

Ian cocked his gun at Randall and sighed. "Randall Fairchild, you're under arrest."

~

Ian and Elle sat on a bench outside of the complex as Randall was taken away by the city police. While Elle stared down at the bright glare from her phone, Ian rested his chin on his hand and looked out at the city.

He said to himself, "I just want to know how they did it all."

"Why didn't you say so?"

Ian looked over and saw Elle looking at him with a smirk. Tucking her phone into her pocket, she stood up and faced her partner on the sidewalk. As she debunked the Horsemen's show to him, she paced in her surrounding space to allow her thoughts to flow freely.

"So how did six amateur magicians take down a swindling billionaire in a matter of minutes? Let's start with the trick. Fairchild and the other kid, uh...Robin, that was it. They had walked over to the center of the stage, were encased in a bubble, and disappeared before our very eyes, right? Wrong. They had been onstage at first. But once the bubble had been raised, they weren't. The bubble served as a veil for Fairchild and Robin to fall under a trapdoor in the stage, hidden from everyone else. The Fairchild and Robin we saw in the bubble were just a hologram.

”Once under the stage, Robin hypnotized Fairchild so he wouldn't escape. Yes, I'd say he's the hypnotist of the group. The original Four Horsemen had a hypnotist, and none of the other newbies displayed any hypnotism skills during the show, so he’s our best bet. Anyway, after Fairchild was hypnotized, Robin escaped and probably served as their getaway driver in however they got away."

Ian felt a smile and didn’t try to stop it. Instead, he crossed his arms and nodded along to her words. He soon said, "Alright. One last question, Simmons. The money. How'd they get it?"

"I was getting to that, McCullough. So how'd they get into his bank account? I'd say that one of them must be tech savvy enough to have hacked into it and drained it of what they needed for the show. Once in Chicago, they retrieved the money from Fairchild's bank and stored it away at wherever they were hiding out here.

”Now, using the money for the show. Remember the butterfly trick? It was just like the bubble. Those butterflies were real, but their second appearance wasn't. They were simply dollars shaped into butterflies. A system of wires were strapped to them, and a secret pulley was what moved them across. One little slip in the system made them unfold and scatter over the audience."

Ian continued nodding until the last word. "Impressive."

"They all clearly know what they're doing."

"But how are we going to know where they went? What, do we just have to...wait for another video to pop up online?"

"Not necessarily. We can even leave tonight if we wanted to."

Elle pulled out a hundred dollar bill she’d received from the show from her pocket. She flipped it to the back to reveal the Four Horsemen symbol etched onto where Independence Hall normally was. Underneath it was two phrases.

"Washington D.C. See you there."


	8. Chapter 8

The Horsemen sat in a private jet the next morning, flying against a blue sky to Washington D.C. They sat around a small, round table that was covered with Shawn's cards arranged for a poker game and piles of airplane pretzels divided among the group.

While cards were being thrown down by the second, Robin looked over at Morgan and said, "I meant to tell you before. Your trick at the show with the, uh, cards on the easel. That was really cool." "Thanks. I knew that it'd come out exactly how I planned it." Morgan played her turn then leaned back, placing her hands behind her head with a cocky grin.

"It's a shame you couldn't do anything, Robin," Shawn spoke up. "I would have loved to see someone there get hypnotized."

"Hey, I helped get that jackass arrested. That's the best trick of all."

Eddie asked from across the way, "So you really liked my trick, Morgan?"

"Yeah, I did, actually. I didn't know what to expect from you when I signed you up. And you being so broody and secretive during practice didn’t help my suspicions."

"’Broody and secretive.’ Those are words I've never heard before from a girl before."

Choruses of "Oh, bullshit!" echoed from the Horsemen. Eddie smirked, "Well, thank you. I appreciate my work being recognized."

”Hey, you’re one to talk, Morgan. We don’t know what the hell you’re doing when you hole yourself up and blast whatever you’re listening to for all of us to hear,” Tara explained.

”That’s the idea. I don’t want you to know. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little Joan Jett now and then.”

Tara shook her head and held back an eye roll. “Suit yourself.”

Eddie then turned to her and asked, "Tell me the truth: Are you really a mentalist? Did you really know that guy was going propose, or did he tip you beforehand to do a little trick?"

"Are you seriously doubting me?"

"Someone's in deep shit now," Robin mumbled as he played his cards.

"I've been practicing mentalism for _years_ , you Houdini wannabe. I can read your sorry ass right down to the letter if I want to."

"So do it."

The Horsemen made a collective "ooooo” at the challenge.

Tara turned herself to the right to face Eddie and stared him down. After a moment, she sat up straight and launched into her reading.

"That’s a cute New York façade you got going on. Too bad you're actually from Jersey. Your mom's a lovely girl, very sweet, friendly to everyone she meets. A real stand-up citizen. She's not associated with the magic biz, though, is she? She runs a book...no...bakery?"

Eddie nodded with a blushing smile.

"Thought so. But I'm not getting a sense of a dad anywhere."

Eddie's smile faded, and he cast his eyes to the side.

Tara held up her hands in defense. "Touchy subject. My bad. Let's see, you're a big risk-taker. It doesn't matter how dangerous or stupid it is. You'll take any challenge. You're that type that rides every ride at an amusement park twice in a day. And that whole trait is the reason you got into magic in the first place. It's an ongoing risk.”

Eddie’s smile returned, and he shrugged at her. “Guilty as charged.”

”Ooo, wait. There's another reason. I'm seeing...a card. The...king of spades. And...a tree. But I think you'll want to elaborate on that for us."

Eddie chuckled and tugged at the end of his shirt. "Alright, alright. You win. You're real. But I'll show you guys. Try not to swoon over there, Morgan."

Morgan scoffed. "Why am I being singled out?"

Eddie gave her a quick, disbelieving look then turned around. He lifted up his shirt to reveal a tattoo that stretched across his entire back. It resembled a tree and had the king of spades placed in the center of its bark.

"Lionel Shrike's tree," Jin mused.

Eddie pulled his shirt back down and turned back. "Yeah. I'm a big Shrike fan."

"Aren't we all?" Morgan asked with a smirk. "He's the whole reason the Horsemen are a thing."

"Hey, Tara, do me," Shawn spoke up.

Tara turned around to face him and raised her eyebrow with a wide eye.

Shawn cleared his throat. “Th-The reading thing. Not...Not the other kind.”

”Mmm-hmm.” Tara chuckled. "Alright. I guess I got to do everyone now. But you first. Well, I already know a lot about your parents from my dad. They used to be B.F.F.s, you know. Your dad's a quality guy, but your mom's a bit...excuse me for this, psycho."

"You got to love her."

"Anyway, I don’t know why you bother to put on this big tough guy act at home. You dress like a street kid, and you try your best to act like you can kick someone's ass. You're from the Bronx, right? So I guess you have to be like that. Well, if you’ve been trying to do that here, you’re doing a pretty shitty job. I don’t need mentalism to know you're a softie.” A smirk began to appear on Tara’s face. “Ooooo, but I do need it to tell me that you have a crush on our very own personal Jinni."

Everyone turned towards Jin and smirked her way. The girl tugged at a piece of her hair and looked away, a blush beginning to appear on her cheeks. Shawn did the same, but his hair was too short to pull on. He resorted to rubbing his hands together in his lap.

Tara continued, "Speaking of, how about I do you, Jin?"

"Oh, well...I don't think you're going to find much."

"I can try. Let's see...Ooo, Daddy's very big in the Eye, isn't he? You got to go all around the world with him and travel to big parties. But he didn't want you to do magic. He just wanted you to be like him, leading around other magicians. But you saw the beauty in it. You do that with everything, don’t you?”

Jin shrugged. “I guess so.”

”Not that I mind it. I like it. We need more people like you out there. Anyway, you had to do a bit of coaxing with Daddy. You maybe did a trick or two to convince him to go into it. You won Daddy over, and that's why you were in New York.” Tara cast her eyes back over at Shawn. “Oh, and Shawn? Those feelings you have? Reciprocated."

The Horsemen "ooooh"ed at the two magicians as their blushes grew darker on their faces. They gave each other a side but made a small smile along with it.

Tara looked over at Morgan, who was still sitting in her laidback position, and stated, "And then, there's you."

"Hit me with your best shot."

"Oh, I’m going to. Your parents are very famous among us. Mom was the first Horseman to formally leave, and Dad was notorious for being a grade-A dick."

"If you're trying to break me, it's not working."

"I'm not finished. You see your parents often, but it doesn't seem like they do. In fact, I'm not getting a sense that they were even married at all..."

A glare settled onto Morgan's face, and it was aimed at Tara. “I was a happy accident. Big whoop.”

”Hey! So were we!” Robin cried as he punched Tara’s shoulder.

His sister refused to look at him, rolling her eyes instead. “Where was I?” she sighed. “Oh, yeah. You're a _huge_ daddy's girl. Huge. You'll hang onto every word of his. But why so much tension against Mommy Dearest?"

"She stifles my creativity."

"Oh, Morgan, that's no excuse. Anyway, Dad pretty much shoved magic down your throat since the day you were born, and it's really the only thing you know. But I will admit that you are very good at it."

"That's all I needed to hear."

"That's a very cute picture in your pocket, by the way."

On instinct, Morgan grabbed her jacket pocket and held onto it tight.

”Oh, you have to show it now!” Eddie cried.

Shawn led a chant of, “Show it! Show it!” It wasn’t long before the other Horsemen joined in.

Morgan rolled her eyes and took out her picture to show it to everyone. After the group made a collective "awww" at it, she tucked it back in her pocket and went back to their game.

"What about Robin?" Eddie asked.

The McKinney siblings turned to each other and made the same blank stare.

Robin was the first to break away, as he turned to Eddie and asked, "Why would she need to? We've grown up together."

"Alright, fair point. But how about I try? On Tara."

Tara smirked at her challenger. "Go ahead. You'll never beat my skill."

"Want to bet? You're very easy, actually. I’ve been reading you this whole time. But where to start...I know. Despite what everyone thinks, you are _not_ adopted. You and Robin are in fact biologically related. You're twins, in fact, and it pisses you off when people think you're adopted.”

”Ah, the tragedy of society today.”

”Anyway, you're older, and you take great pride in that. You tried doing hypnotism, but you probably sucked at it, considering you're doing all this mentalism now. And once we're all through with this, you'll be back home, spending time with your boyfriend named Chris."

Tara smirked at Eddie, her eyes saying more than her mouth. She eventually said aloud, "Right on all accounts. Except one."

"And what's that?"

Tara threw down her cards and leaned in, stating, "I swing the other way."

The Horsemen "oooooh"ed louder than before as Eddie made a sheepish chuckle at his blunder. "You think you won this game, Tara,” he said, “But I'm sorry to say that I have the upper hand." He threw down his cards to reveal that he had the winning deck in their game.

The Horsemen's noise continued as Eddie took all the pretzels in the middle for himself. Popping one in his mouth, he turned to Tara and asked, "Was I at least right about the Chris part?"

"Yeah, that part's right.” Tara leaned back in her seat and sighed. “Christiana Ramirez. The finest Latina girl to ever walk in the East Side.”

”Shall we play again?” Jin asked.

”I’m down,” Robin said. “Dealer?”

”On it.”

Morgan took up each card and reshuffled then in her elaborate fashion. When the deck was set, she dealt them out to each player, and the game started once more.


	9. Chapter 9

There was little standing room at each landmark that littered Washington D.C. the next day. People were gathered all around the nation’s capital to see the Horsemen perform their tricks before their real show at Ford's Theater later that day.

Standing in a crowd at the Lincoln Memorial, Ian tried calling Elle on his cellphone. When she picked up, he asked, "Where are you? I'm at Lincoln."

"I'm at the Smithsonian.”

"Great. Just stay there and keep an eye on them. If anything suspicious happens, we'll call each other."

"I keep trying to tell you that it's not going to happen here. They’re probably going to pull something toni-"

"Just do what I say, Simmons."

With a sigh, Elle hung up on her boss and watched Jin perform on the museum’s front steps. There was a large top hat with a white feather tucked inside of it resting on her head which looked out of place among the street clothes she wore.

A small smile was on the girl’s face as she said to the crowd, "Alright, so my favorite kind of tricks are the ones that involve animals. You know, making doves appear, pulling rabbits out of hats."

Jin picked the top hat up and let it spin down her arm. When it reached her elbow, she moved her arm up and caught the hat in her hand. She reached inside and pulled out a white rabbit, its nose twitching by the second.

Jin held the rabbit up before the crowd and let her smile grow wider. "Those sorts of things."

As everyone clapped at the trick, she added, "But I like to be a bit more...unique."

~

Standing before the White House fence, Shawn held a deck of cards in his hand and had his signature smile on his face, the grin illuminating at the crowd.

"We all know what a boomerang is, right? The curved stick that you fling and it always comes back? You know, those. Well, my dad taught me once that cards are just like boomerangs. Now for this trick, I just need a volunteer. You sir, come on up."

A man in a cowboy hat stepped forward as Shawn held out the cards.

"Just pick a card, one card. Don't show it to anyone then put it back."

The man pulled out the four of spades then placed it back in the center of the deck.

Shawn shuffled it as fast as he could and explained, "Like I said, my dad is an expert on cards, and he taught me that cards are like boomerangs. The right one will always come back to you. We're going to put that to the test. On the count of three."

Everyone counted down as Shawn held the full deck in the palm of his outstretched hand. On three, he launched the deck into the air, and the cards scattered throughout the area.

As everyone watched their flight in awe, Shawn mumbled, "Now which one's our boomerang?"

Just then, one card started spinning in the air. It made its way back to Shawn, hurtling in his direction, but the boy managed to catch it in his fingers. He showed it off to the crowd and, sure enough, it was the four of spades.

The crowd cheered in delight as Shawn bowed at them, his signature smile returning.

"Like I said, boomerangs always come back."

~

Ian watched from his place in the crowd as the McKinney twins brought a woman up to the top step of the Lincoln Memorial.

Robin told her, "Okay. I just need you to place your hands against this column."

The woman did so, chuckling as she did.

”Yeah, I know it’s weird, but trust me. Trust is very important for this to work. Do you trust me?”

”Yes,” she said.

”Good because I didn’t have anything planned if you said no.”

Robin let the crowd laugh while he stepped in front of the woman and gave her an intense stare. "Now I want you to sleep to the sound of my soothing, sultry, spoken song. Listen to the lilting lyric my larynx lets out. And..."

Robin snapped, and the woman, who had been put into a trance by his voice, began to blink at a rapid pace.

"Try to let go,” he told her.

The woman pulled at her arms but found herself stuck to the column. She tried again, but her palms appeared to be sealed to where they were pressed.

"Oh, sorry. Seems like my technique worked too well."

Everyone chuckled except for Ian, whose hand was placed over his pocket where his phone was.

Robin stepped aside to let Tara do the next portion of the trick.

"So Carol—It is Carol, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Carol, let me see...You have a boyfriend. Something along the line of John. Jake. James. Jim. Jimmy, that's it! I knew it was a J. What else can I weasel out about you, Carol? You...like the Met. And I don't mean the baseball team, though I'm a fan myself. Do I have any New Yorkers out there?"

Several people in the audience began to cheer while Ian glared at her, making a polite fist pump with his free hand.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Tara cried. Turning back to Carol, she continued, "No no, Carol, I mean the Met Opera. Well, good news for you. Jimmy's got the Met on his mind too at the moment, and he’s going to call you to tell you something very important about it that involves the both of you and a little show called  _Don_ _Giovanni_. And that’s going to happen right...no, not yet...wait...now."

Just then, Carol's phone began to ring in her pocket. She tried to reach it, but her hands were still pressed against the column.

"I think this calls for me," Robin said. He made a quick snap of his fingers and gestured to Carol. " _Now_ you can let go."

Carol pulled on her arms, and her hands freed themselves from the column. As she rushed down the stairs of the Memorial, saying into her phone, "Hey, babe," the audience applauded for the twins. Ian pulled his hand away from his pocket and applauded as well, not wanting to admit that Elle was right.

There was no threat. Not yet, anyway.

~

Elle continued to watch from her place as Jin set her trick up for her audience.

"For my trick, I'm going to put a new twist on an old classic. You saw me pull the rabbit out a minute ago, right? Well, let's see..." She surveyed the crowd until she pointed at a man towards the front.

"You!"

"Me?"

"Give me your shoe."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Although he was apprehensive, the man took off his shoe and handed it to Jin. The girl turned it upside down and shook it before the crowd.

"There's nothing here, right?" she asked them.

She waited for their murmurs to die down then placed her hand inside the shoe. The blank expression on her face eventually settled to a smirk, leading her to pull her hand out and reveal another rabbit in her grasp.

"There you are, you rascal. I thought I brought two rabbits today," she said.

Everyone applauded for her in delight, and she gave a polite bow. Amidst the applause, Jin looked up at the Washington Monument and found herself freezing out of fear.

Looking back at her audience, she explained, "I'm afraid I have to cut this short, but thank you for watching the Fabulous Jin!"

She plucked the feather from her top hat, waved her hand around it, and let it turn into a dove. Everyone watched the dove fly off while Jin began to run down the museum steps.

Elle watched her go with a glint of suspicion in her eye, but she decided to stay inside her place in the crowd.

~

Morgan smiled at her crowd as they stood before the front of the Washington Monument. Once a man placed a card into her deck, she began to shuffle them and explained, "Now cards tend to have a mind of their own. They can be quite unpredictable, believe me. When someone picks them, they can get so excited that they'll want to jump right out of the deck. Everyone ready?"

"Yeah!" they chorused.

Morgan held the deck vertically and said, "One, two, three, jump!"

A card jumped out from the middle of the deck and landed in her other hand. She revealed it to be the jack of diamonds.

"I believe this is yours,” she told her volunteer.

Everyone clapped for the young magician, the sound being music to her ears.

Morgan wasn't able to bask in it for long because she heard Jin's voice call, "Morgan!"

Turning to her friend, she greeted through gritted teeth, "Jin, you're supposed to be performing."

"This is more important. It's Eddie's act."

"Eddie?"

As if on cue, his voice rang out through the space, "Ladies and gentlemen!"

Morgan turned to look at the Monument, and her blue eyes widened in terror.

At the top of the structure was Eddie, arms open wide in the air around him. He called down, "For my act, I am going to take what I call a Leap of Faith. Leap because I'm going to leap from this great landmark without a net to catch my fall. And Faith because...well, I need your complete faith for this to work."

"He's insane!" Morgan cried. She tugged on the microphone clipped on her shirt and twisted it so only Eddie could hear her. She hissed, "Eddie! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What I do best: The unexpected."

Eddie turned hid microphone off from private and called out, "Are you ready, Washington D.C.?"

Morgan's crowd gave an enthusiastic cheer, making her and Jin’s alarm rise in their chests.

Eddie counted down from three then closed his eyes. In a single swoop, he fell forward off the Monument, keeping his arms out at his sides.

Jin turned away from the scene while Morgan kept her horrified eyes glued to the act in horror.

Eddie fell straight down from his height, careening to the ground head first. Just before he could make contact with the concrete, the boy seemed to vanish from thin air.

The crowd rushed over to the spot where he should have landed but didn't find a trace of him within their space.

As Morgan and Jim exchanged a wide-eyed glance, a voice suddenly called, "Hey!"

Everyone turned back to see Eddie emerging from the pool below the Monument several feet away.

"I could use a little help!"

Everyone let out a wild cheer for the magician's trick, some jumping to their feet as they applauded.

Morgan pushed her way through the crowd and ran over Eddie. She gave him a tight hug, not minding his soaked physique.

Eddie cocked his head at her and smirked, whispering, "I think this is a bit soon, don't you think?"

Morgan’s cheeks turned red, and she pulled away from him. “I was just worried, is all. I can’t afford to lose one of you guys.”

Morgan shook her head to bring herself back to her senses then turned back to the crowd. She took Eddie's hand and raised their arms into the air amidst the growing applause.

With a flashing smile on her face, she advertised, "Come see the Horsemen tonight at Ford's Theater! It's sure to bring the house down!"


	10. Chapter 10

The audience of the packed Ford's Theater clapped as they continued to be delighted by the Horsemen’s tricks that night as they had been earlier. As Elle cheered on the young magicians from her balcony seat, she looked over and saw Ian watching with crossed arms, not moving an inch in his seat.

She bumped his arm and whispered, "Lighten up. You could at least be polite and clap for them."

"I'll clap for them once they're caught and sent to prison."

Elle rolled her eyes then turned back to the show, where Morgan had begun to move onto center stage. The magician smiled at her adoring public then said, "Well, I'm glad you're all having a great time tonight. I certainly know I am. But I'm afraid we only have time for one more act."

"Not so fast," Eddie interrupted. "We can make room for one more before our finale."

Morgan took a quick glance at her partner then turned back at the audience. She made a nervous chuckle at them and replied through gritted teeth, "No, no, I don't think we do."

"Oh, we do. I still have another trick up my sleeve."

"What the hell is he doing?" Tara whispered to Shawn.

"Hell if I knew."

Eddie then reached into his black suit jacket and pulled out a small gun that was about the size of his hand. Taking a firm grip on it, he declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, I am going to survive a gunshot wound."

A large gasp filled the theater that was followed by several quiet murmurs.

Robin let out a chuckle. "Oh, this just got interesting."

Eddie twirled the gun around his fingers as he added, "And my shooter shall be none other than my partner here-" He threw it at Morgan, who took no time to catch it in her hands. "-Morgan."

Beginning to break into a sweat, the girl replied, "I-I'm not entirely sure if this is...really necessary, Eddie. Why don't we save this trick for our next show?"

"No, no. We're doing this right here, right now."

Eddie stood before Morgan with a confident smirk on his face. Morgan's waifish blue eyes glanced at him, pure fright shining inside of them.

In response, Eddie gave her a gentle nod.

Giving one last glance to the audience, Morgan faced him and held the gun up by his chest.

"No, no. The forehead."

Morgan’s hands began to shake as she obeyed and raised the gun higher.

Eddie continued, "Come on, Morgan. I didn't think you were the type to get stage fright."

If she were more focused, Morgan would have made a sharp comment in reply. Instead, she held the gun forward at her partner but was unable to pull the trigger.

Eddie stared at her from across the way and mouthed, "Trust me."

Morgan looked ahead and saw a faint glimmer in Eddie’s hazel eyes. They told her that he was right. She could trust him. And there was no time to waste.

Taking a deep breath, her finger pulled back, and the bullet flew out of the barrel. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the bullet sailed straight for Eddie's forehead, right in the center of his eyes. It didn’t take long for time to speed up and for the magic to commence.

Just before the bullet could make contact with his flesh, Eddie reached up and caught the bullet in his fingers. A sharp gasp emitted from everyone in the auditorium at the feat. In a matter of seconds, Eddie threw the bullet into the air, and it exploded into fireworks that scattered throughout the theater.

Everyone was awestruck at the spectacle and rose to their feet, making a loud applause at the trick. Morgan looked at Eddie in shock, who in turn smirked and bowed in her direction.

She turned back to the audience and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, Eddie!"

The applause continued for some time but eventually settled down to let the Horsemen finish.

Once a sense calm had been restored to the theater, Morgan said, "Well, that was...quite the show we just put on. But why don't we get to the _real_ final act? Tara, if you could please pick out a random volunteer from our audience."

Tara stepped forward and looked out at the audience. "Wow, look at this full house we have here tonight. It's going to be hard for me to pick just one. But I think I got someone."

She closed her eyes for a second to focus. Once open, she called, "Andrew? There's an Andrew here. Andrew...Tyson? Is there an Andrew Tyson?"

A man stood up and called back, "Right here!"

"Wonderful, awesome! Andrew Tyson, come on down!" As Andrew walked onstage, Tara continued, "You're the next contestant on _The_ _Horsemen_ _Show_!"

She pulled him onstage by giving a tug on his elbow and asked, "How are you doing tonight, Andrew?"

"Doing good."

"Good, good. Now while I was trying to find you before, there were some thoughts running through my head about you. Little fun facts and tips that could help me get to know my volunteer better. Like I know that you're...a banker. Not a huge one. You just run a nice little place here in D.C. It’s very trusted by everyone. I'm proud of you. Am I right? I'm not thinking of a different Andrew Tyson?"

Andrew chuckled. "No, that's me."

"Good. My abilities aren't failing me. Now I'm going to let Robin here do his thing."

Tara stepped aside to let Robin face Andrew. The boy explained, "Alright, Andrew, this is going to be very simple. Have you ever been hypnotized before?"

"I don't think so, no."

"Oh, then this is going to be a trip."

Robin made an intense stare at his volunteer then moved his hand in a circular motion in front of Andrew. "Picture yourself falling freely in flight, my friend. You're sailing, soaring, swiftly in the sky. You're-"

Before Robin could go on, Andrew's elbow suddenly lit up in flames. The Horsemen jumped back in shock, some of them letting out a small yelp.

Robin tried to hold back a chuckle as he cried, “Oh shit! I-I assure you, Andrew, this is not part of the hypnotism."

"Well, put it out!"

Ian looked to Elle, hoping she'd want to go after them now as he did. But she only watched in intrigue, her eyes never leaving the stage. Defeated, Ian sighed then turned his attention back to the show as well.

Jin, dressed that night in a strapless dress with the top being black and the skirt a flowing white, had come forward and offered, "Don't worry, Andrew. I think I can tame it."

She put her hands into the flame, causing a collective gasp to be made by her fellow Horsemen. As quickly as they went in, she then pulled her hands out. The flames seemed to lift off Andrew's jacket and move onto Jin's fingers instead. She was able to control the fire in her palms, moving her hands around so it followed her.

Shawn remarked to himself, "I guess they don't call her Jin for nothing."

As the fire began to form a ball in her hands, Jin moved it around the other Horsemen, who watched in delight when it reached them. Once every person was touched by it, the fire grew in size until it was a massive ball of flame.

When it returned to Jin, she threw it into the air, and it flew over the audience. The flame disintegrated, and in its place was a large amount of money. The money then fell over the audience, causing everyone to seize what they could in a frenzy.

Morgan smiled out at everyone and declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's thank Andrew Tyson for his generous donation here tonight."

Andrew looked at her in shock. "Wh-What? What do you mean?"

Elle looked at Ian in her seat and asked, "Now?"

"You’re damn right now."

The two agents stood up from their seats and raced down the balcony steps to the ground floor.

The Horsemen each stepped forward onstage and began to explain to the audience what Morgan had meant.

"So most of you should be familiar with Andrew Tyson, right? Very successful banker, extremely trustworthy."

"That's where you're all wrong. Andrew here is actually running a Ponzi scheme."

"All that money you so openly trusted him with? You never got it back, did you?"

"Andrew kept all that nice money for himself while you were all swindled."

"So we made sure that you'd all get it back here tonight. And here you are, D.C.!"

While some of the audience cheered and others yelled at Andrew, the man himself turned to look at Morgan, who only replied with a smug shrug.

The others turned to their crowd and decreed, "Thank you! We are the Horsemen!"

Just then, Ian and Elle reached the stage, the former calling out, "FBI! Freeze!"

Jin walked toward them and greeted, "Oh, thank goodness! We were hoping you'd get here to take care of our friend. It looks like our job is done."

She proceeded to undo her skirt and twirl it around her at a rapid pace. As she did, the skirt evaporated and transformed into several doves.

They flew towards Ian and Elle, hindering their vision for a moment. Once it was clear, they looked around and saw an empty stage before them save for Andrew.

Gritting his teeth, the only response Ian was a simple, "God dammit!"


	11. Chapter 11

Ian closed up the police car that was parked outside of the theater. He looked through the tinted window and could see Andrew Tyson’s hunched-over figure in the backseat, disappointment written across his face. He gave the man a quiet scoff then walked away.

As he turned around, Ian found Elle sitting on a bench nearby and made his way over to her. He sat beside her and let out a sigh. "How the hell did we lose them again?"

"We hesitated."

Ian fired a baffled glare at his partner, but she never noticed. Shaking his head, he proceeded to take out a cigarette and grumbled, "They're always one step ahead of us. It's not like we can even...try and track them down or something. They've never revealed their last names onstage, so we can't look them up in our databases and see if they have a history."

"They knew what they were in for with this gig. They planned it all out."

"We still don't know where the next show is yet, right?"

"Not a clue."

Ian was about to light his cigarette when his partner turned to him and asked, "Do you mind?"

He stared at her for a second, feeling a chill enter his body at the sight of her dark eyes. With a sigh, he turned off the lighter and shoved it back in his pocket.

After sitting in silence for a moment, Ian asked, "Do you know how they did it this time?"

Elle smirked in his direction. "Are you asking because you don't have a clue?"

Ian didn't answer or return her gaze.

Elle continued to smirk, letting a chuckle creep out from her lips. She leaned back in the bench, her arms resting on the back, and launched into her explanation.

"You know those fake fireplaces they sell in furniture stores? I mean, they're real fireplaces, but the fire is what's fake."

"Yeah."

"That's what they used. Harmless, non-toxic, fake fire. Now did you notice that when Tyson was brought onstage, Tara seemed to tug at his arm? In the same spot where the 'fire' eventually lit up on him? She placed a triggering mechanism there. While Robin was trying to hypnotize him, she triggered it to activate, causing the flame to light.

”Now getting the flame to move. My guess is that Jin had a secret series of strings that she used to move it along and make it seem like she was bending it."

"Yeah, that's great and all. But where'd the money come from?"

"They were each hiding it on their person. The money was attached by its own set of strings. When Jin moved the flame over to them, they each hooked up to the flame. But it had gotten so big that none of us could see it. Once the flame was over the audience, they disengaged it, and the money was revealed. As to how they got the money, I'd say that they probably robbed Tyson's bank yesterday when he wasn't around and kept it wherever they're hiding out."

Ian couldn’t help but chuckle at his partner once she finished. He turned to her with a smirk and asked, "Why do you know so much about magicians? What are you doing working here and not as one of them?"

Elle asked with a slight lilt, "Do you promise not to laugh?"

"I can't, but I can try."

"When I was younger, I was obsessed with magic. I was always...practicing tricks at parties and showing off to my friends. I binged _Magic_ _Unmasked_ _with_ _Thaddeus_ _Bradley_  pretty much every weekend so I could get the tricks down pat." Elle said the name of the show with a slight flair, bringing a nostalgic smile to her face. "I practically dedicated my entire life to it. I found out about the Four Horsemen, and that just sealed the deal. I visited as many of their shows as I could, and I just...looked up to them. How they were willing to fight injustice while doing what they loved. But as I got older, everyone around me started telling me that I couldn't do anything with magic. I couldn't make a career off of it like they could. So I stopped and now dedicate myself to...this. Intern at the FBI."

Ian seemed to lean back in the bench, an intense expression on his face. "So what do you think of the Horsemen now? Are they heroes or thieves?"

Elle thought about it for a minute, trying to find the right answer. "What side am I working on, McCullough?"

With a small smile, she got up and walked over to the other agents to signal they were ready to go, leaving Ian to think over just who his partner really was.

~

The Horsemen packed up their things inside the Eye hideout underneath the Smithsonian, getting ready for wherever their next show would be. Their packing was accompanied by the sound of Blondie's “Call Me” blasting from behind a closed door nearby.

"God, she must be really going at it," Tara remarked as she stared at the door.

Her brother replied, "Hey, she warned us that this is how she rehearses."

”But she’s been in there much longer than usual,” Jin said in a quiet voice.

Tara scoffed. “I guess that means someone pissed her off.”

Debbie Harry’s voice suddenly stopped and the door burst open, Morgan’s scowl popping out of the doorway.

"Eddie, get in here," she spat.

With a cocky smile on his face, the man in question said, "Well guys, it's been nice knowing you. Remember me because I'll be coming out a changed man."

He followed Morgan into the room and shut the door behind him. The smile never leaving his face, he greeted, "Gee, Morgan, I didn't think you'd be the type to want to do this so soon with a guy. Well, I will say that my arms are wide open and both my lips and my fly are sealed, but they'd love for you to unlock them."

Eddie was then brought out of his fantasy by a hard slap to the face.

"What the hell was that up there tonight?" Morgan shouted.

"What, the bullet trick?"

"The bullet, the fall from the Monument, you name it. I wouldn't necessarily call them tricks rather than attempts at live suicide! If something had gone wrong and you had gotten yourself killed up there, we'd have had to stop the whole show. This whole thing could have been ruined because of the BULLSHIT you call MAGIC."

"Hey, I've warned you time and time again that my tricks are of the 'unexpected' kind."

Morgan scoffed then went over to her stuff, her annoyance clear as she tried to pack. "You're not unexpected. You're reckless. You go up there thinking you have an idea of what's going to happen. Guess what? _Life_ is what actually happens up there. You have no idea how many things can actually go wrong onstage. So that's why I practice my ass off whenever I can every. Single. Day. Because I know that the more times I practice, the less chance there is of me screwing up when it matters most."

Morgan stopped packing and looked at the man before her, the smirk never leaving his face.

Eddie tried to find the right thing to say back and settled on, "You know what I just realized? 'Wreckless' also sounds like 'wreck less'."

"Very good. Which is exactly what you should be doing."

Morgan was about to walk out but Eddie added, "You know, I'm surprised I'm letting you boss me around like this when I'm...what, three years older than you?"

"And I'm going to keep bossing your ass around until you start acting like it. I did not restart the Horsemen just for them to go down in flames by one person who doesn't seem to give two shits about them. Just know that no matter what you pull, the Horsemen will still be performing with or without you."

The two magicians gave each other cold, hard stares as they stood face to face. Eddie suddenly leaned in to kiss her, but Morgan put her hand over his face before he could.

”What the hell are you doing?” she asked.

”No? I thought we were having a moment.”

Morgan scoffed. "Get out."

She opened the door, and Eddie sauntered out, hands tucked into his front pockets.

The Horsemen looked between the two of them with wide eyes, standing frozen in front of their suitcases.

Morgan looked out at them and waved her hand. Her voice was calmer as she said, "Shawn. You're up."

The boy gave a nervous glance at his troupe then made his way into the room.

Morgan shut the door behind him then stared at him with crossed arms. "Let me see."

"S-See what?"

"You know exactly what. I'm in a shitty mood, so don't you dare."

Shawn reached into his jacket and pulled out a wad of cash, never taking his eyes off Morgan.

She asked in an almost condescending tone, "What's that?"

"...Money from Tyson's bank."

"Weren't we giving out that money at the end of the show?"

"Yeah."

"So why is it in your possession instead of one of Tyson's victims'?"

Shawn sighed. "Look, my family's...going through a bit of a rough patch right now. We're low on cash, and my dad's job search isn't going well. We're desperate for anything, really. So I thought that since the Horsemen's whole purpose is to finance the less fortunate, that...well, that I qualified for that. But I see from your face that I don't. I get it, I screwed up. So I'll just...give this back."

Shawn held the cash out for Morgan, but she didn’t take it. She stared at it instead, Benjamin Franklin’s green face staring up at her. She didn't want to be the bad guy with Shawn. He was too kind, too sweet. And he made a valid point. Plus, she didn't want to be robbing not one but two original Horsemen of what they deserved from their years' work. It was the least she could do.

"Shawn. Take it. You're right. You guys do deserve it."

Shawn's gray eyes lit up as his leader smiled at him.

"Just don't let me see it happen again," she said.

"I promise. Thank you so much."

While Shawn exited the room and rejoined the others, Morgan poked her head out of the doorway and declared, "Saddle up, folks. We leave bright and early tomorrow for the grand finale in Orlando. Great work out there today. Except Eddie. But he already knows that."

With that, the door slammed shut, and Debbie Harry's muffled crooning filled the atmosphere once more.

Robin chuckled at his companion, who seemed to have a grim look on his face, and asked, "What'd you do that's got her so pissed?"

Eddie, resting his head in his hand while it leaned on the tabletop, let out a sigh. "I tried to impress her."


	12. Chapter 12

It had been two days since the Horsemen’s arrival in Orlando. Morgan walked out of a Starbucks with a coffee cup in one hand and a phone pressed against her ear in another. Her face was twisted into a scowl as she walked down the sidewalk and yelled into her phone.

"Look, Shawn, I'm just telling you what the guy at Dr. Phillips said. They already booked something else for tonight, so we have to move to the Wayne Densch Center...You're making this a much bigger deal than it needs to be! We don't have that much stuff! Just move it all there!...I don't know where it is off the top of my head! You know what? Fine. I'll look it up once I hang up and send it to you the information...Look, I'm sorry this is an inconvenience. Just don't screw this up. You almost blew the heist yesterday, and I don't want a repeat...Yeah, yeah. I'll send you the directions in a minute. K, bye."

Morgan hung up and held her phone at her side. She tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and let out a loud sigh. “Amateurs,” she muttered.

As she crossed the street, she looked down at her phone and let her fingers begin typing away. Those few seconds were what cost her from hearing the truck horn in time to dodge it.

~

The Horsemen waited backstage at the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, each one jittery in the dark space around them.

Robin paced while saying, "Something's definitely up. Morgan of all people wouldn't be the last to show up for a show."

"And what about Eddie? I haven't seen him since lunch," Jin added.

Shawn explained, "He told me he might be a little late. He said Morgan gave him a job to do before the show."

Tara scoffed. "Sure she did. That was probably just an excuse for us so they can ditch the show to paddy whack."

"Paddy whack?" Jin asked in confusion, slight disgust in her voice.

"Oh, sorry. Have sex."

The explanation only made Jin cringe more.

Robin stopped pacing and rolled his eyes at his sister. "Really?"

"They could be. I know Eddie likes her and she likes him. Doesn't take mentalism for that."

"But Morgan? She's the most dedicated out of all of us. She'll ignore every distraction in front of her so she can perform and make sure everything goes right. She wouldn't ditch us for a cheap shot at sex."

Tara shrugged in reply and leaned against the back wall with crossed arms.

A voice soon boomed through the theater, "Ladies and gentlemen."

"Showtime," Shawn mumbled.

The Horsemen waited with lumps rising in their throats as the announcer decreed, "You saw them in Chicago. You loved them in D.C. And now, here they are for their final show in our very own Orlando. Give it up for the Horsemen."

The Horsemen walked to the front of the stage, large smiles on their faces as they walked towards the applause awaiting them. Their smiles vanished as quickly as they had appeared once they looked out at the empty theater before them. The sound of rapturous applause still rang through the theater, making them look around for the source.

Eddie was the lone person in the auditorium, stepping out from the shadows in the back. He pressed a button on his phone that silenced the other applause and smirked at the Horsemen in the light.

"Welcome to the show," he greeted.

Robin asked with a slight waver, "What the hell is going on, Eddie?"

"The final act of the New Horsemen. But there'll only be one performer in it tonight. And that's me." Eddie began to walk into the aisle and make his towards the front of the stage. "So I hope you're all comfy because we have a lot to get through."

"Where's Morgan, you little shit?" Tara hissed.

"Save all questions until the end please, Tara dear. Although, you really shouldn't have any. You know, you missed so much about me on our flight to D.C. But let's start with the biggest tidbit you skipped over. My name is not really Eddie Dillon. No no, my name comes in three parts: Lionel. Shrike. Jr."

Sheer panic crossed over the Horsemen's faces.

Jin said in a quiet voice, "No. Morgan said Dylan Shrike died before he could have any children."

"Well, then someone didn't do their research very thoroughly. Yes, I am indeed Dylan Shrike's son, named after the greatest magician to ever walk the face of the earth. He didn't tell the others about my mom or me because he wanted us to at least have a chance at a normal life. Well, guess what, Dad? It worked.

”Before you ask what else is a lie, I will confirm that my father is in fact dead. I was going on two years old when he died. So I barely knew him. But I did learn one thing from him: Magic sucks."

The newly identified Lionel Shrike Jr. let out a small chuckle. “You actually think I liked performing with all of you? I hated it! I hated calling myself a Horsemen. It was everything I'd worked so hard to try to _not_  become. I've only been learning it in order to reach this blessed moment: The Fall of the Horsemen. I've hated magic because, when it comes to my family, all it gives you in the end is drowning in a box.

”So of course, meeting Morgan and finding out she was trying to bring back the Horsemen was the perfect way for me to take them down once and for all. So here we are! And I have to say...So far, so good."

Furious, Shawn pulled out a card and threw it towards Lionel. Without hesitation, Lionel caught it in his hand and tucked it in his pocket.

"Not the best move, Shawny. I'm already pissed at the universe enough. You don't need to make it worse."

"Are you done, Eddie? Lionel? Whoever the fuck you are?" Tara spat.

Lionel pretended to think about it then replied, "Yeah, I'm good."

"Good. Now where the fuck is Morgan?"

"She's fine, she's fine. Simmer down, honey. Morgan is perfectly fine. But I'd be more concerned about you guys. Because you aren't. See, I brought a few friends along to tonight's show."

Lionel pushed a button on his phone, and the door to the theater burst open. In stormed several FBI agents, led by Ian and Elle.

Surrounding the stage, the lead agents yelled, "FBI! Stay where you are!"

The remaining Horsemen held up their hands and stared down their captors with wide eyes. They resembled deer in headlights when facing them, and yet, they knew that was exactly what they now were.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Water/drowning

Morgan's eyes began to lift open as she heaved heavy breaths and picked up her head. Once her vision was clear, she saw that she was no longer on the street but was now in what looked like a vast warehouse with a scarce amount of light coming in through tinted windows from above.

Morgan tried to move herself forward but found herself stuck in place in wherever she was. She looked down and found her ankles bound in chains at her feet. She then looked up and saw her arms were up over her head and bound in chains as well, these chains by her wrists. Upon looking around the area, Morgan realized that she was being contained in a glass box that stood several inches taller than her if she were on her feet.

”What...?” she mumbled.

Lionel then stepped out of the shadows, a devious smirk on his face as he stood before her.

"There she is. The missing Horseman, safe and sound,” he greeted.

"Wh...Where...am I?" Morgan’s voice was tired and gravelly as she spoke, but she couldn’t will herself to take up more energy.

"That's for you to find out. Well, you probably won't though, considering your current habitat. I'd be more concerned about finding the others, which you also can't do at the moment." Lionel let out a chuckle. "Man, for someone who paints herself as brooding and tough, you're pretty skittish. I didn't even hit you with that truck, and you just passed out right in the middle of the street."

Morgan looked at Lionel with confused panic written on her face. As the pieces fell into place, she became more alert and scrunched her face together. Balling her hands into fists, she tried to move her chains forward and hissed, "You son of a bitch.”

"Actually, I'm the son of a Shrike. Well, I better get going. We have a show to perform."

"Can you at least get me out of here?"

"Why? Your mom's the escape artist. She must have taught you something."

With one last smirk, Lionel backed away from the glass and disappeared back into the dark.

Morgan tugged on her chains as hard as she could, muttering curses under her breath. It wasn’t long before she heard the sound of gurgling water from under her feet. She looked down and saw that water had entered the box and was slowly filling up to the top.

Morgan rolled her eyes at the move and scoffed. "Of course."

Taking deep breaths, she tried to think of escape methods and how to utilize them. Though her mother didn't support her daughter's magic ambitions, an entire day's worth of begging is what won Henley Reeves over to at least provide some guidance on escape artistry. The most important: A way out would always be on your person.

Morgan surveyed her limited space for something to provide her with an escape. Her eyes lit up when she spotted it: The loose buckle on her black heeled shoes. She then adjusted her vision and noticed that her ankle chains had begun to fray due to her fighting against them.

Morgan continued to move her legs against the chain a few times before it eventually broke away. She let out a sigh of relief but felt the rising water reach her ankles, soaking her tight-fitting blank pants.

The second thing Henley had taught her: Flexibility was essential. From hours of practice, Morgan was able to lift her legs up against her so her feet reached above her head. Her bound hand bent as much as it could to reach the buckle. Though it was hard to move the hand, she was soon able to grab the buckle.

Morgan let her legs back down and winced in pain, her breathing growing heavy once more. Clutching the buckle, her fingers fumbled to try to pull up the clasp. Panicked, she slipped and the buckle dropped into the water that was now at her torso.

"Dammit!"

~

The Horsemen sat two by two across from each other in the back of an FBI van. They were each handcuffed with annoyed and panicked glares of present on their faces.

"I can't believe Eddie's such a bastard," Robin said to himself. "All this time, we had a Shrike with us."

"We were doing so good. How'd he get the FBI to us?" Shawn asked, his voice having a waver to it.

Tara fired, "You dumbass. He's probably been tipping them off this whole time about where we were going. God, how are you such an idiot?"

"Well, excuse me for not being able to freaking read minds!"

"You didn't need that to figure out he's a jackass who betrayed us!"

"Guys!" Robin exclaimed. "Guys, come on. Calm the hell down. We're all freaking out about getting arrested."

Shawn and Tara slumped up against their respective walls and let out a sigh. The only sound that filled the air was the rushing wind from outside and the grind of tires on the road.

Shawn couldn’t stay angry for long. He soon smiled at the McKinney twins and said, "Honestly, this has been great. I don't regret any of it. Not even this."

Tara made a small smile at him. "Me neither."

Shawn turned to Jin and found her staring at her handcuffs, her intense eyes almost bulging out of her head.

"Jin? Are you okay?"

The girl didn't answer and continued staring at her bonds. Color soon flushed into her cheeks, and her quiet voice began to speak.

"I know how he did it."

"What?" Robin asked.

"I know how he did it! Eddie...Lionel's handcuff trick at the airport when we met him."

"But you weren't there when he did that," Tara said.

"I know. I felt left out when I found out about him, so I got him to reenact it and show me how he did it. I think I can get out!"

Jin focused on the handcuffs, taking a deep breath as she kept her gaze on them. She flicked her wrists and the handcuffs fell away within seconds, freeing her hands from their grip.

The Horsemen looked at her from their seats in awe. Their eyes began to bulge as well, and their mouths were shaped into large O’s.

"Damn," the McKinneys chorused.

Jin took a bobby pin out of her hair and smirked at her companions. "Don’t doubt the skill of the Eye."

The others cheered as she went over to them and undid the locks on their handcuffs. Once everyone was free, Robin asked, "So what now?"

Shawn looked at the back of the van and said in a nervous tone, "I think we jump."

Tara unlocked the door, and the back of the van opened, revealing the moving street before them as they traveled further out of the city. She sighed. "Here goes."

Tara jumped out first, followed by Shawn, Jin, and Robin. Robin held onto the latch of the door as he stood on the edge and pushed it closed. He jumped down and landed on the street, a car beeping at him as he did. He dashed to the side of the road, where the others waited for him to join them. The four then watched as the FBI drove far away from them until they were only a speck of the stretch of road ahead of them.

Robin continued to watch as he said through hard breathing, "Now, we find Morgan."

~

Morgan watched the buckle start to float down to the bottom of the box as the water began to rise faster. Thinking fast, she moved her legs forward so that the buckle was caught between her toes. She pulled her legs back up so she could grab the buckle. It landed in her hand just as the water reached her neck.

Taking ragged breathes, Morgan fixed the clasp so that it poked out from the rest of the buckle. She placed it in the lock at her wrists and twisted it so it could unlock.

By the time she freed her hands, Morgan was completely submerged underwater. She bent down to the bottom of the box and unlocked the chains at her ankles, allowing her to swim freely.

Once she was released, she swam back to the top and pushed at the lid of the box. Moving it to the side, Morgan pulled her head out and gasped for air. She threw herself against the side and took a moment to breathe.

Looking at the buckle, Morgan smiled and remarked, "See, Mom?"

She picked herself up over the edge and jumped out, preparing to land on her feet. Instead, she landed on her side, causing her to wince in pain.

As she stood up, she said, "Note to self: Practice agility more often."

Once back on her own two feet and free from her watery prison, Morgan ran off to find her way back to her show.


	14. Chapter 14

It wasn’t long before the FBI van pulled up to the front of their Orlando headquarters. Ian and Elle stepped out from the front and walked towards the back of the van with a confident stride in their step.

The former remarked, "I got to hand it to that kid. He really helped us out in getting those guys."

"What can I say? I know people, McCullough."

“What, did your ‘nerd power’ help you find him?”

”If that’s what you want to call it.” Elle looked over at her partner with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Ian opened his mouth to fight back but instead rubbed his temples with a sigh. "Let’s just bring them in, question them a bit, lock them up tight, and call this a closed case. I'm sick of telling people that I've been chasing down magicians for the past week."

Ian opened the back door to the van to find it empty, no trace of a passenger in sight. The only thing inside was the ace of spades on the floor.

Elle looked away and sighed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"God dammit!" Ian stepped aside and placed his hand against his forehead. His gaze switched between looking at the city skyline behind him and the van before settling on the orange sunset covering the city in the distance.

He took a deep breath then let out a slow exhale. "Fucking magic."

~

The Horsemen ran through the streets of Orlando until they could see the Dr. Phillips Center in the distance.

"There it is," Robin stated. "Hopefully, we can still put on a show."

Shawn saw a figure running in their direction in the distance. Once the combination of black clothing and pale skin became clear in his vision, he pushed himself to the front of the group.

"Morgan!" he shouted.

The others followed his gaze and skidded to a halt once they found Morgan running towards them. The five embraced in a group hug once they reunited, letting out a synchronized sigh as they sagged their shoulders into each other.

"Christ, where were you?" Robin asked Morgan once they let go.

"The Wayne Drensch basement. Eddie tried to drown me in a glass case."

"You mean Lionel," Shawn said in a bitter tone.

"What?"

"Eddie. His name's really Lionel Shrike Jr.," Jin explained. "He's Dylan's son. He set us up to get arrested so he could try to destroy the Horsemen."

Morgan couldn't respond to her fellow magician. All she did was stare at them in stunned silence, her voice cracking but unable to make words.

She was broken out of her trance by Tara's blunt voice saying, "Look, we can do the recap later. We got a show to perform."

"Tara's right. Let's move it, guys. The Dr. Phillips still has us booked, so we got to get in there." Morgan looked at her colleagues with a proud smirk. "Time to show the world that the Horsemen are here to stay."

The others smiled at her as well, emphasizing their confidence with a nod.

"Let's go, go, go!"

The Horsemen rushed inside the theater and reached the backstage area just as an announcer greeted, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Dr. Phillips Center is proud to present the Horsemen!"

"Show time," Morgan whispered.

The five, trying to hold back heavy pants in their breathing, walked onstage to the sound of real applause from a packed house.

Shawn beamed at them and greeted, "Now that's what I like to see!"

"Welcome everyone!" Morgan declared. "Welcome to the third performance of the revival of the Horsemen. You have no idea what a relief it is to see you all. Unfortunately, after this show tonight, we'll be taking a small break."

"Don't worry. We'll still be out there."

"Watching."

"Waiting."

"Performing."

"But when we return, you'll know."

"And I'm also sad to say that we'll only be able to perform one trick for you tonight."

"See, a fellow Horseman and some fun law enforcement are trying to put a damper on our show," Tara remarked. "But we're here to make sure that doesn't happen."

"So without further ado, I'd like to announce that tonight's show is sponsored by a generous donation from our friends at Highbrow Bank," Morgan continued.

Robin added, "I think ‘friend’ is a strong word to use there, Morgan."

"Oh, is it? Well, they did give us all this money to give out to our fans tonight."

The audience made a loud cheer at the news, some people bursting out of their seats and throwing their hands up.

Morgan stood center stage and held her hands together, focusing her eyes onto them. She slowly moved them apart from each other, her fingers bent in a C shape. In the center was a red balloon, blowing up the further her hands moved apart. Once it was the size of her head, Morgan let go and watched the balloon fly over the audience. Everyone's heads looked up and awed at the balloon hovering above them.

Shawn then pulled out a card from his deck and threw it toward the small balloon. The moment it made impact, the balloon popped, causing thousands of dollars to pour out and into the laps of the audience.

The theater was filled with cheers and applause while the Horsemen looked out in awe. The joy on everyone's faces as they grabbed the money and cheered for them was just what they'd dreamed of accomplishing for themselves.

As they left everyone with their new riches, they declared, "Thank you! We are the Horsemen!"

Morgan turned to Jin and said, "Jin, take us home."

The girl nodded and waved her arms over herself. The stage began to be coated in smoke, covering the Horsemen from head to toe. As soon as it dissipated, it seemed the Horsemen had vanished from sight as well.


	15. Chapter 15

The Horsemen sat at a small table in a café on the water, the other tables around them invisible among their celebration. As they raised their glasses over their heads, Robin cheered, "To the Horsemen!"

"To the Horsemen!"

They then clinked glasses and took a sip of their drinks, letting the cool liquids slide down their throats.

Shawn set his glass down with a smirk and said, "They're back and here to stay."

"Amen," the girls replied with Jin giving a gentle smile to her crush. Shawn gave a discrete smile back then returned to the rest of his drink.

Robin looked out at the outdoor dining area and saw Morgan perched against the wood beam that surrounded it, the girl looking out at the calm waves beneath her and the orange sunset up ahead. While the others were distracted, Robin picked himself up from his seat and made his way over to Morgan's side outside.

Leaning against the beam as well, he greeted, "Hey."

Morgan didn't turn her head. "Hey."

"So the show went okay."

She sighed. "Thank God it did. Lionel almost screwed it up."

"Yeah. I'm...sorry that things didn't work out with him. We could tell that you kind of liked him."

Morgan replied with a shrug.

"You know, I think you guys would have worked out. You seemed...similar."

"You mean we're both assholes." There was a bitter tone in Morgan’s voice, almost as if the words hurt her to say.

"No, no. You're both dedicated. You stand your ground, know what you want, and you freaking go for it."

Robin thought he could almost see a smile on his friend’s face. "I guess."

"But you know, he had to go and try to kill you. That was messed up."

"Yeah." Morgan sighed. "That was the one thing from him I wasn't expecting."

Robin almost didn't process what she said, but he caught it just in time. He mulled on it for a few seconds until the truth became clear.

"You knew."

Morgan didn't respond for a moment. She closed her eyes and let the evening wind blow through her wavy hair. Once she opened them again, she told her story. She never looked her friend in the eye as the words tumbled out of her mouth.

"I met him three months ago. He saw me performing one day in the street and confronted me afterwards. He wanted to take me out to lunch. Normally, I'd say no to such a sleaze. But he told me his name-Shrike, not Dillon-and I just had to know more.

”So we went to lunch. We had a great time, the two of us. I told him all about my life and my plan to revive the Horsemen. He told me all about his life and how he wanted to get rid of the Horsemen. We were a match made in Heaven. So we struck up a deal. I would bring back the Horsemen and he'd come along. But once the gig was up, he'd make them disappear forever. He warned me that he had been practicing magic, but it was the kind that would make him risk his life every time we performed.

“'So don't be too surprised by what I do,' he said.

“I told him, 'I'll try my best.'

“We kept in contact after that. A lot of contact, actually. Feelings grew mutual. Love grew strong. I told him I'd let him know when everything was set."

Morgan turned around to look at Robin, a faint sparkle in her eyes. "You know how I summoned you all with cards? There was...five of those, not four."

Robin almost couldn't bear to look at her. Trying not to lose his cool, he asked, "So all this time, you knew he was going to get us arrested and you were just going to let him?"

"No. I always knew he wouldn't win. I knew that you all were just as smart as the original Horsemen and you'd have the ability to get away. I never doubted you guys for a second. The Horsemen never really end. They just...take a break. They stay out of the public eye for a little bit. But they always come right back. And even then, the people they affect with their tricks kind of become Horsemen in their own way. Their values become their own. So you see, magic's always there. It's hard to find, but you eventually will."

Robin seemed to simmer down after Morgan explained herself. He had to give her credit. No matter what life threw at her, Morgan always had hope in magic.

A question then popped into his head. "What made you so dedicated to all of this in the first place? Why bring the Horsemen back after twenty years?"

A faint smile appeared on Morgan’s face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the picture she always carried. She turned it so that Robin could see it clearly; A newborn Morgan clutched in her mother's arms, resting against her chest. Her father standing beside them, the new parents' faces filled with peaceful smiles.

"This picture was taken by your father.”

Robin tried his best to hide his shock at the news, allowing Morgan to continue her story.

"The day I was born was the first time the original Horsemen had been together in the same room since Dylan Shrike's death. I've always kind of...thought of that as my legacy. I felt like it was me that had brought them back together. So I always thought...if I could do it once, why couldn't I do it again?"

Morgan turned the picture around so she could look at it with a warm smile. Robin had a similar expression, but his smile was aimed at Morgan.

He gave her a gentle nod then said, "I get it." He allowed a silence to sit between them until he remembered why he had come out in the first place. "Well, uh, hey. When you're ready, you can just come back in."

Morgan nodded. "Thanks."

With a deep breath, Robin walked back inside but took a quick glance at Morgan before returning to the others.

Morgan turned back towards the water and tucked the picture back into her pocket. A confused expression crossed her face as her hand moved around. She kept the picture in her pocket but pulled out a card that hadn't been in there before. Turning it over, she found it to be the two of hearts.

Morgan smiled at her new treasure, knowing exactly where it came from. She looked out at the Florida sunset against the water, her hope returning to her in an instant. Her next great trick was already being plotted in her mind's eye.

~

 _What_ _is_ _it_ _about_ _magic_ _that's_ _made_ _it_ _constant_ _throughout_ _centuries?_ _Why_ _do_ _people_ _still_ _go_ _around_ _performing_ _card_ _tricks_ _or_ _making_ _something_ _levitate_ _in_ _front_ _of_ _a_ _crowd?_ _Why_ _do_ _we_ _still_ _find_ _it s_ _o_ _compelling?_

 _Is_ _it_ _the_ _thrill_ _of_ _performing_ _feats_ _that_ _only_ _God_ _could_ _enact?_ _Is_ _it_ _so_ _we_ _can_ _give_ _our_ _audience_ _some_ _kind_ _of_ _hope_ _that_ _there's_ _true_ _magic_ _in_ _the_ _world?_

_No._ _Magic_ _is_ _created_ _through_ _one_ _thing:_ _Misdirection._

_Magic_ _thrives_ _off_ _of_ _deception._ _We_ _make_ _an_ _art_ _of_ _showing_ _your_ _eyes_ _one_ _thing_ _when_ _there's_ _something_ _different_ _going_ _on_ _behind the scenes._

_Most people would look at this and say it’s horrible to make a career off of deceiving others. Those people don’t understand that there’s a reason for the misdirection. It’s misdirection for the greater good. The audience is deceived for the purpose of making their lives better than they were._

_In the end, no matter which way you look at it, it still goes by one name: Magic._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you giving this story a chance and staying interested in it. There will be more from me soon, so keep your eyes open. Happy reading! :)


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